As you may know, on Thursday September 15, members of the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform (CCBR), an anti-abortion advocacy group, came to Sheridan’s Trafalgar Campus. We have received some questions and concerns about their attendance. After having responded to those individuals directly, we wanted to take a further opportunity to communicate some additional information more broadly.
The CCBR attended on Sheridan’s premises by asserting a constitutional right to do so; they argue our premises are public. Sheridan did not have firm confirmation from the CCBR of the date and time of visit until the afternoon of September 14. We provided notice to the Sheridan community as soon as was feasible.
The CCBR has now advised Sheridan that they will attend again at some point in the near future. They have also advised that because Sheridan provided advanced notification to its community, they will not provide any advance notification to us before their arrival. Accordingly, Sheridan may not be able to notify the community until we are aware that the group has already arrived on campus.
Sheridan continues to strive to create a balance between people’s freedom of expression with our strong desire to provide a safe and respectful learning and working environment. If you have not already done so and feel that anything said to you during their visit was intimidating, hateful or inappropriate, please report it to us for our consideration. You can send your comment to Christine Szustaczek, Director of Corporate Communications and External Relations at christine.szustaczek@sheridancollege.ca.