Canadian University Law: Essentials For Legal and Higher Education Professionals

"It is no small task to detail how practitioners should approach disputes involving academic freedom and the Charter rights of stakeholders when, as the authors demonstrate, the foundational rights and institutional status of various actors remain unstable, if not wholly unsettled. That being said, Canadian University Law fulfills its dual mandate of providing a solid orientation for those who represent clients in legal disputes, while at the same time illustrating the many shortcomings of doctrines that would purportedly guide litigants and provide the certainty that would promote effective and prompt settlement of their disputes."

Reviewed by Professor Ryan Alford
Bora Laskin Faculty of Law, Lakehead University

Read the full review on LexisNexis Canada's Canadian Legal Insights Blog

"[N]ot many books published in the last decade or so have focused on academic freedom or broader issues of university governance, and even fewer in the Canadian context. This book would be an excellent addition to any law library."

Reviewed by Julie A. Lavigne, Legal Studies Librarian
Carleton University

Read the review in the 2026 Canadian Law Library Review 51:1 (page 26)

“I congratulate Anna Wong and Sayeh Hassan for this excellent and thought-provoking book. I praise their decision to write a book on academic freedom in Canada. I admire how they explore this important subject through a wide legal process lens that examines the relevance of academic freedom to private law, administrative law, and the Charter.” – Professor Kent Roach, from the Foreword

Issues related to academic freedom, university autonomy and freedom of expression on campus have been at the forefront of academia. While they have been the subject of a smattering of cases litigated across the country, the area is underdeveloped and clear guidance from the Supreme Court of Canada is lacking. In fact, intermediate appellate courts are divided on whether the Charter applies to universities.

Written by legal advocates Sayeh Hassan and Anna S.P. Wong, Canadian University Law is a groundbreaking new publication. It provides a practical overview of the current state of the law and is reader-friendly, with standalone chapters for easy navigation. It offers analysis within the realms of administrative law, private obligations, and constitutional rights with respect to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

This book is dedicated to exploring the law’s ever-present role in regulating relationships involving Canadian universities, its constituents and outsiders, and resolving disputes between these parties. The goal is to make this area of law intelligible to those who are governed by it, work within it, or simply want to learn more. It will surely prove to be a seminal read for lawyers, students, academics, judges and university administrators for years to come.

Canadian University Law also features a special Foreword by Kent Roach, Professor of Law at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law. Specific academic cases discussed in this resource include McKinney v. University of Guelph, Pridgen v. University of Calgary, UAlberta Pro-Life v. Governors of the University of Alberta, Young v. Bella, Harelkin v. University of Regina and Longueépée v. University of Waterloo.

Topics Covered

• University of Toronto and Valentina Azarova hiring scandal
• History of the modern university
• Relationship between academic freedom and free speech
• Academic freedom understood by courts
• Human rights tribunals
• Judicial review of university decisions
• Vicarious liability
• Educational malpractice
• History of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
• Student discipline cases
• Non-discipline cases where the Charter applied
• Remedies that apply to university disputes
• Freedom of religion, expression, assembly and association on campus

Who Should Read This Book

• Civil litigators and constitutional lawyers representing universities and students before a court, board or tribunal
• Judges seeking guidance when rendering decisions on whether the Charter applies to universities
• University administrators, faculty and staff interested in academic disputes and their outcomes
• Law professors, students and scholars researching the intersection of Charter free speech and academic freedom
• Law Libraries looking to expand their collection of titles on constitutional law