The Writers’ Union of Canada (TWUC) is concerned that renowned Canadian poet, El Jones, and two other speakers were removed at the last moment from a presentation panel organized for law clerks at the Supreme Court of Canada. The website Rabble.ca reported (February 7, 2024) that a delegation organized by former governor general Michaëlle Jean was set to present in mid-January on anti-Black racism in the justice system.
According to that report, “El Jones, Derico Symonds and Benazir Erdimi were told only hours before the meeting that they would no longer be allowed to attend. The reason given by Supreme Court Registrar Chantel Charbonneau was because of “controversial” social media posts made by these three members of the delegation.” Dr. El Jones is a former Poet Laureate of Halifax, a professor at Mount St Vincent University, and was a speaker at TWUC’s 2019 AGM.
The Toronto Star also covered the removal of the speakers, and according to both reports, the social media activity in question was unrelated to the speaking engagement or the intended topic.
While all organizations are free to curate their professional development as they see fit, the pre-emptive removal of an invited speaker for unrelated speech sends a chilling message about individual free expression.
TWUC understands that El Jones and her fellow speakers have written to the SCC requesting a meeting. The Union calls on the Supreme Court of Canada to address this incident, and examine policies for speaker presentation.
DATE: February 20, 2024
