Alberta bill to limit institutional speech, comments from post-secondary schools

Alberta is proposing a new law that would limit post-secondary schools' ability to express opinions on social and political matters. Myles McDougall, Alberta’s Advanced Education Minister, introduced the Advanced Education Statues Amendment Act on Tuesday. If the bill becomes law, schools would need to create and follow policies promoting neutrality and freedom of expression, which the minister could evaluate.

These policies would prohibit institutions from making public statements on global political, social, or ideological issues outside their academic focus. However, the bill also contains other policy changes, such as allowing the government to set maximum tuition amounts for programs or groups of programs, and establishing minimums for student codes of conduct.

McDougall explained that there are rare instances, such as expressions of sorrow or support after a loss of life, where institutions could make official statements. He emphasized that universities could not take a political stance on issues like the Israeli-Palestine conflict but noted that these rules would not apply to university officials, staff, or students.

Private institutions and First Nations would be exempt from the new rules. Premier Danielle Smith stated that "our universities and colleges should teach students how to think, not what to think," and emphasized that Alberta would protect this freedom to keep education accessible.

The bill has faced criticism from the Opposition NDP, with David Eggen arguing that it is a distraction from real issues like funding and affordability. He described the government's focus on "culture war garbage" as unproductive. The bill's tuition changes apply to domestic students, with the government allowing an annual cap increase of two per cent next year.

The province did not disclose which groups or programs would be affected, and they declined to comment on whether the changes aimed to raise or lower tuition costs. McDougall said tuition adjustments depend on factors including program costs. In Alberta, domestic tuition fees have increased by 35 per cent from 2020 to 2027, making the province the highest in Canada, though New Brunswick has a higher average tuition at $10,373.