The University of Guelph Central Student Association and a campus union have cancelled a federal election panel discussion rather than include local People's Party of Canada candidate Mark Paralovos.
Earlier this year, the provincial government implemented a free speech policy that requires colleges and universities to develop a policy that meets a minimum standard directed by the government. They are also required to report their annual progress to the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario. Those that do not comply with the requirements risk a reduction in operating grant funding.
With this in mind, the Central Student Association (CSA) and CUPE 1334 (the union which represents trades, maintenance and service workers), posted an open letter stating that their decision to cancel the event scheduled for Oct. 2 was in order to ensure the safety of students and workers on campus.
"These policies force post-secondary institutions to accept hateful language in their spaces under the guise of free speech, which is unacceptable," said the joint statement by the student association and union.
“Students should be able to make the informed decision of who adds to thoughtful debate and who is not invited on the grounds of safety, hate and discrimination,” the letter reads.
“The location of this event being set to take place on university property subjects the decision of the organizers to exclude this candidate from participating in this debate in the freedom of speech policies of the university.”
Paralovos says he is disappointed in the CSA for removing the students’ ability to hear about student issues from federal candidates.
“This is a perfect forum to have those discussions and these are hard discussions to have, and they are worthwhile discussions to have. So having these guys cancel and blame me for cancelling, that's not my call. I just want to participate in a fair way,” says Paralovos.
He says the letter implies that the People’s Party of Canada is guilty of hate, putting safety in jeopardy and is blameworthy for discrimination.
“None of those things are true,” says Paralovos.
He says even though each party shares different viewpoints, he has never encountered a problem at any recent local debates with the candidates or the audience.
Paralovos says he is disappointed in the CSA for directly blaming him for being the reason for cancelling their event, adding that they're nothing short of misinformed.
“To be that misinformed, to try and paint me as a racist or somebody that's intolerant. They just know nothing about me. It would be like somebody attacking me for being overweight, young or for being a certain skin colour,” says Paralovos.
He says the CSA and CUPE 1334 has misconceptions about his platform.
“It's the immigration one, and that's I mean that to me is not a race issue. It is like I said, a fiscal issue so that that doesn't scream racism to me,” says Paralovos.
Paralovos is considering legal action because he believes the written letter mischaracterizes him personally as well as the PPC.
“I find it interesting that the candidate whose leader was filmed multiple times in blackface recently is still invited to this event,” says Paralovos adding that he doesnt understand on what grounds the local Communist Party candidate was invited.
CUPE 1334 spokesperson Jensen Williams says the platform of the PPC carefully uses its language to not appear blatantly racist but is committed to ending multiculturalism by referring to the current political climate in Canada as a cult of diversity, prioritizing refugees who reject political Islam and wanting new immigrants to assimilate into western Canadian values by leaving their culture behind.
“I think that it's pretty clear that this party is racist and I don't think that that's really open to interpretation," Williams says.
"I really think this is a thinly veiled attempt of what they mean is white values because they never go on to define what Candian values and what Western values are,” says Williams.
She says that CUPE 1334 represents workers who belong to many identity categories and it fears for their safety with a candidate who shares these values.
“They say our immigrant immigration policy can benefit Canadians only if we welcomed the right kind of immigrant,” says Williams.
Williams says that the local Liberal party does not promote racism and the CSA and CUPE 1334 do not condone the recent blackface photos that resurfaced of the prime minister.
She says the founding members of the party support the party are exactly what the Canadian anti-hate network describes as extreme far-right anti-immigrant groups whose views alone should disqualify them from participating in televised election debates.
“So it's not that we were using our own political opinions to exclude this person from the debate,” says Williams.
“It's pretty clear when you read through the party's platform that they have a mandate of hatred and we at the university, from the CSA and the CUPE 1334, we have a mandate of anti-oppression and we have a commitment to eradicating hate and discrimination to uphold equality and equity in our communities and that goes directly against what the People's Party platform says.”
In a press release, Liberal candidate Lloyd Longfield expressed disappointment for the cancellation of the event stating that the debate would have been a great opportunity to be among the students to discuss the work that the Liberal government has completed.
“Our values are very different from the PPC where we believe that diversity is our strength as a nation” indicated Longfield.
