FREEDOM OF SPEECH ANNUAL REPORT

As indicated in the December 14, 2018 and September 12, 2018 memos from the then Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, each of Ontario’s publicly-assisted colleges and universities is to prepare an annual report on the implementation of a free speech policy. Please use this template; you


Type	PDF
Size	700 KB

Open original PDF →

Referenced from: Documents & Reports

Document text

FREEDOM OF SPEECH ANNUAL REPORT

2024-2025

La cê

TAL DH

Freedom of Speech Annual Report

The institutional Freedom of Speech Annual Report will be a public document and should respect privacy obligations. Please report on events or incidents that took place between August 1, 2024 and July 31, 2025.

The reports are to be posted on the institution’s website and submitted to the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO) by September 2, 2025.

Please submit your institution’s annual report and the link to its location on your website to submissions@heqco.ca. Please reach out to HEQCO at the same address with any questions.

Section A

Institutional Policy

You may append additional documentation or institutionspecific information as you see fit.

Has your institution amended its free speech policy (or policy framework) since the time of your 2024 report? If so, please explain the reason for the change and provide the link to its location on your institutional website. Northern College has not amended its free speech policy, or policy framework since last reporting in 2024. It remains available on our public website: https:// www.northerncollege.ca/documents/admin/policies/ Admin-A8_Free-Speech-Policy.pdf
Where are members of the institutional community (or guests) directed when there is a free-speechrelated question or complaint about an institutional event? Please provide contact information. All free speech related questions or complaints are directed to Northern College’s HR Manager Sara DePinto at depintos@northern.on.ca.
What is your institution’s policy on holding events where there are security concerns? To your knowledge, were there any instances where a noncurricular event did not proceed due to security concerns or their related costs? No incidents to report.

Section B

Complaints

You may append additional documentation or institutionspecific information as you see fit.

Between August 1, 2024 and July 31, 2025, did any member of the institutional community (or guests) make an official complaint about free speech? If yes, please provide a general description that protects the privacy of complainants. No complaints were filed during this period.
If there has been an official complaint (or more than one): What were the issues under consideration? Please identify any points of contention (e.g., security costs, safety, student unions and/or groups, operational requirements, etc.). No issues to report.
How did the institution manage the free speech complaint(s)? Was the complaint addressed using the procedures set out in the policy? How were issues resolved?

No issues to report.

Section C Summary Data

Please provide the following summary data for free-speech-related official complaints received by the institution:
To the best of your ability, please provide an estimate of the number of non-curricular events held at the institution either online or in person between August 1, 2024 and July 31, 2025. Noncurricular events include, for example, invited speakers, sporting events, rallies, student life/ student affairs events, conferences, etc., as opposed to regular events held as part of an academic program or course.

| Number of official complaints received under the free speech policy relating to curricular and non-curricular events. | 0 | |

Source: https://www.northerncollege.ca/uploads/2025/08/Free-Speech-Report-2024-25.pdf