CSIS and Academic Freedom

July 7, 2023

Our Know Your Rights segments highlight different aspects that impact your employment at Carleton University, including highlights from the Collective Agreement in small, easy to understand bits.

CUASA representatives recently attended an informational session titled “Academic Freedom and Faculty Rights Today” organised by the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT), featuring Professor Alison Hearn, moderated by Carleton University’s Sociology Professor Xiaobei Chen. During the session, many reported concerns about academic freedom in the current context when Canadian security agencies are becoming increasingly involved in screening academic initiatives and projects. As many of you may know by now, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) introduced a mandatory “security risk” assessment screening in 2021. As discussed in this informational session and in previous CAUT statements, such policies are concerning due to the potential for racial profiling, with many academics of Chinese descent expressing fear of being targeted due to their heritage and/or the connections they may have with Chinese academics or institutions.

Furthermore, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) has been contacting institutions and academic staff. CAUT cautions academic staff against speaking with CSIS without first contacting your academic staff association to obtain legal advice. Some tips to bear in mind when dealing with CSIS:

• CSIS agents are not law enforcement and cannot arrest or detain you.
• You are not required to talk to CSIS agents.
• Moreover, you are not required to engage with them at the place or time in which they contact you. You have the right reschedule to a place or time that would be more convenient to you.

If CSIS contacts you, report it to CUASA ([email protected]) and to the university administration right away.