Lindsay Shepherd
Canadian free speech activist / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Lindsay Shepherd (born 7 December 1994) is a Canadian columnist who became known for her involvement, as a graduate student and teaching assistant, in an academic freedom controversy at Wilfrid Laurier University (WLU) in Waterloo, Ontario, in 2017.[2]
Lindsay Shepherd | |
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Born | 7 December 1994[1] |
Education | Simon Fraser University (BA) Wilfrid Laurier University (MA) |
Occupations |
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Years active | 2017–present |
Known for | Academic freedom activism |
In November 2017, Shepherd played her communications class two clips of a debate, formerly aired on Canadian public broadcaster TVOntario, with psychologist Jordan Peterson on Bill C-16, which added "gender identity or expression" as a prohibited ground for discrimination to the Canadian Human Rights Act and as an identifiable group to the Criminal Code.[3] After one student approached a campus LGBTQ support group to express concern about the clips,[2] they contacted the University's acting manager of gender violence prevention,[4] and Shepherd's supervisor requested that she attend a meeting the following day with him, a support group staffer, and the head of Shepherd's academic program.[2][5] Without detailing the nature of the complaint or complaints, Shepherd was accused of having created a "toxic climate for some of the students" by playing the clips and adopting a neutral stance between the positions.
An independent fact-finder hired by the university reported that the meeting should not have taken place, that "no formal complaint, nor informal concern relative to a Laurier policy" had been registered, and that Shepherd had done nothing wrong by showing the clips.[6][5]
In May that year Shepherd received the 2018 Harry Weldon Canadian Values Award from Canadians for Accountability.[7] The following month she filed a lawsuit against the university, the two professors, the third staff member and a student, alleging "harassment, intentional infliction of nervous shock, negligence, and constructive dismissal".[5] Peterson also filed a lawsuit, for defamation, against the university and the staff members in the meeting.[8]