Thank you very much for that.
I have a follow-up, particularly to the last comment you made about the consequences of having your voice heard.
When you challenge power or credible authority, there's often a response that is extraordinary—one that, in fact, limits or suppresses one's right to freedom of expression. In particular, when it comes to students, we saw a severe issue following Israel's intense bombing campaign in Gaza, which left over 40,000 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces. Student-led encampments demanding that their universities divest from companies complicit in funding Israeli-led genocide began emerging right across the country. The B.C. Civil Liberties Association was forced to intervene at the B.C. Supreme Court to defend students whose expression rights were being repressed.
You were involved in that intervention. In your submission, you wrote:
The courts must take account of essential Charter protections for free expression and assembly when issuing injunctions. Students must be able to confidently rely on their Charter rights. Seeking and attaining the truth, as well as participation in social and political decision-making, are at the core of why we protect free expression. Private property is not a magical override for constitutional rights.
Can you please explain to us your experience in this case and how the courts treated the interplay between the expression of rights and property rights?