I was shocked when the University of Alberta administration informed me, one of its law professors, that I was being placed on non-disciplinary leave for my social media comments in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination—comments that unquestionably fall within the scope of academic freedom and freedom of expression. I know that many others have been placed on leave, disciplined or fired for their comments, and feel compelled to speak up in light of my firm belief that the health of a democratic society depends upon its protection of academic freedom and freedom of expression.
The University of Alberta has one of the strongest policies on freedom of expression of any university in Canada, and its academic staff collective agreement protects employees’ rights to speak frankly on matters of public importance as part of their academic freedom. Why would it bow to anti-democratic pressures by placing a professor on leave without their request, consent or involvement? That any university would do this is beyond comprehension and is cause for alarm about the future of academic freedom in Canada.
The University of Alberta has equivocated on the reason for placing me on leave, emphasizing safety concerns while also alluding to “concerns” about social media posts I have made. These social media posts were made in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, which sparked many media stories and social media discussions regarding appropriate responses to his death. In this context, I made a post on Bluesky that criticized a New York Times headline that read “Charlie Kirk Was Practicing Politics the Right Way,” commenting that: “You do not, in fact, ever have to hand it to the Nazis. I utterly do not care for any ‘virtues’ that someone may perceive in them.”
The comment alluded to a well-known meme, drawing an analogy between the eulogization of Charlie Kirk and people who insist on highlighting that Nazis did something right, despite their evils. The post reflects my belief that while it was wrong to assassinate Charlie Kirk—which I stated explicitly in a contemporaneous post—attempts to sanitize his legacy are inappropriate. I also wrote a post noting the unsettling fact that both Charlie Kirk and Yitzhak Rabin were assassinated shortly after being publicly cursed.
Let me be clear. None of my social media comments fall under the categories of expression that may be restricted according to the Statement on Freedom of Expression at the University of Alberta, namely “expression that violates law, causes the university to violate law, violates applicable university policies, procedures or collective agreements, falsely defames, constitutes a genuine threat or harassment, or unjustifiably violates privacy or confidentiality interests.” The social media post in question boils down to an affirmation that the terrible assassination of Charlie Kirk does not require us to sanitize his hateful legacy. People may certainly agree or disagree with it, but it was not violent, hateful, harassing, discriminatory, illegal or otherwise beyond the scope of academic freedom.
Now back on campus, I cannot help but feel that the imposition of leave was a means of punishing me, as well as warning me that I may face repercussions for my exercise of academic freedom and freedom of expression. By placing me on leave, the university implicitly condoned and supported the targeted harassment of progressive academics across the United States and Canada for expressing a wide range of views critical of Charlie Kirk as part of a large-scale effort to have them terminated. In heeding this harassment campaign, the university echoes the U.S. government’s foray into McCarthyism and Nazi-like behaviour. The fact that the harassment campaign seemingly resulted from outraged posts by a National Post columnist should not be forgotten either.
In addition to the unnecessary stress and injury to my professional reputation caused by the decision to place me on leave, the events send a chilling message to members of the university community, including fellow faculty, staff and students who may now feel pressured to censor their protected speech. As a law professor actively involved in advancing human rights, I am deeply troubled.
The facts are incompatible with the claim that the non-disciplinary leave was solely motivated by safety concerns. Non-disciplinary leave was imposed without my knowledge or consultation. I was not asked about the nature and quantity of threats I received before it was imposed. I was not offered to teach virtually while security concerns are ongoing until a few days later when I suggested so. Had the university been genuinely concerned with safety and nothing else, it should have consulted me, made abundantly clear in communications with myself and others that my comments fell squarely within my academic freedom and freedom of expression, decried attacks against my protected speech, and worked to mitigate negative reputational impacts on myself.
Instead, onlookers were left with the impression that I had done something wrong and was being punished for it, an impression that was quite reasonable given the university’s actions. Moreover, I feel that the university administration’s actions have placed my long-term safety at risk by sending the message that harassment and bullying are effective means of having a professor put on leave.
Such outrageous behaviour cannot be tolerated if we are to preserve Canadian universities’ commitment to academic freedom and freedom of expression. I am grateful for the support of friends, acquaintances, peers, faculty members and faculty leadership during this stressful process.
I hope that others, including members of government and civil society, will publicly express their opposition to the University of Alberta’s censorious actions and that the university will apologize, reaffirm its commitment to academic freedom and freedom of expression, and undertake a review of its policies and the conduct of upper administration to ensure full protection of academic freedom in the future.
Florence Ashley is an Assistant Professor at the University of Alberta Faculty of Law. Their research primarily centres on legal and bioethical issues faced by trans communities.
