THE VANCOUVER SUN: OTTAWA - In a brief statement Wednesday University of Ottawa President Allan Rock defended his institution and said that free expression is a core value of the school that bills itself as Canada's university.
"Freedom of expression is a core value that the University of Ottawa has always promoted. We have a long history of hosting contentious and controversial speakers on our campus. Last night was no exception, as people gathered here to listen to and debate Ann Coulter's opinions."
Rock's statement said organizers of the speech themselves decided at 7:50 p.m. Tuesday to cancel the event and informed the university's security services on site of their decision.
The statement said a crowd of about 1,000 people had "peacefully gathered at Marion Hall."
"I encourage our students faculty and other members of our community to maintain our university as an open forum for diverse opinions. Ours is a safe and democratic environment for the expression of views, and we will keep it that way," Rock, who is a former federal minister of Justice in the Jean Chrétien cabinet, said in the statement.
The university indicated it will make no further comment on the matter.
Ottawa police were also issuing statements about the Ann Coulter affair Wednesday
Ottawa police spokesperson Alain Boucher said the police did not shut down the event, but said a different venue was needed to hold the crowd of around 1,500 people.
"We strongly suggested that this venue was not large enough to accommodate all the people that had attended," he said. "We had safety concerns with the sheer number of people that were there...with different views on issues." >>> Matthew Pearson, The Ottawa Citizen | Wednesday, March 24, 2010
