Photo credit: CBC
MP Garnett Genius has accused a student group at York University of attacking free speech after he was denied permission to hold an event there. However, the university’s student centre said politics had nothing to do with its decision.
The Canadian Press reports that Genius said his event at the Toronto campus was cancelled “due to a decision of the student union not to allow it.”
The president of the York Federation of Students, the university’s student union, said Thursday morning her group has no authority to book or cancel events. Somar Abuaziza said she did not know about the planned event before being contacted by media outlets.
After speaking with The Canadian Press, Genius clarified it was the York University Student Centre that denied the event, and said he was told it was because of the format.
Genius has been touring university campuses, where he’s been striking up conversations with students about youth unemployment and affordability issues.
He said, the goal is to ‘gather information that I can use in Parliament” as his party’s job critic.
In four videos posted on social media, Genius can be seen sitting at a table in a public area next to a banner that asks students if they’re better or worse off than their parents’ generation. The events are coordinated with the help of local campus Conservative groups.
