As part of a coalition, with partners such as the Canadian Journalists for Free Expression and the Ryerson Centre for Free Expression, CAUT is seeking leave to intervene in the Ontario government’s appeal of the Student Choice ruling.

The legislation was quashed by an Ontario lower court in November 2019, after the Canadian Federation of Students and the York Federation of Students challenged the government’s requirement that universities and colleges allow students to opt out of paying for services deemed “non-essential,” including student fees which support student unions. After a lower court ruling striking down the legislation, the Ford government announced it would appeal the ruling.

CAUT and its partners will argue that freedom of expression affects almost every aspect of the mandates, institutional structure, legal frameworks and day-to-day life and activities of universities and colleges, and that the government overstepped in attempting to regulate student governments.