Meghan Murphy event in B.C. moved over security concern

Photo: Canadian Press / Chris Young

Writer Meghan Murphy speaks at an event in a Toronto Library on Oct. 29, 2019.

The organizer of a panel discussion on gender and sexuality says the location of the event in Vancouver has been changed over possible security risks because of the views of a featured speaker who drew protests at a Toronto public library this week.

Prof. Mark Collard of Simon Fraser University said the senior director of campus security assessed a high safety concern for the event that was set to take place on Saturday.

Collard, who teaches human evolutionary studies, said he's been planning the event that includes Meghan Murphy since the spring and ticket holders will be emailed a few hours before Saturday's talk with details of the new location.

Collard said the security director, Tim Marron, assessed the security risk as "11 out of 10" and suggested violence could be used by a group called the Coalition Against Trans Antagonism, which is not affiliated with the university, but Out on Campus, which supports LGBTQ students, was not considered a threat.

Marron said he couldn't discuss any security issues and a spokesman for the university said no one was available to speak about the issue.

Tami Starlight with the Coalition Against Trans Antagonism said members of the group had planned to chant loudly and will be showing up "in force" at the new location, wherever it will be, to do the same.

Collard said he didn't want to take any chances when he heard about safety risks that led to the change in venue.

"I decided I just couldn't in good conscience expose people to that level of risk. Given that the security team is telling me that there is a very, very high probably of being some sort of violence that the evening I decided it would be irresponsible for me to continue."

Collard, who attended Murphy's talk earlier this year at the Vancouver Public Library as protesters gathered outside, said he understands her views are controversial but she has a right to express them in a society that values free speech.

"I don't agree with everything she says but I think she has a right to say them but actually some of these issues that she talks about are incredibly important and we need to have a public discussion about them. We can't just allow one side of the debate to win by suppressing the other."

Murphy, who completed a master's degree at Simon Fraser University's department of gender, sexuality and women's studies in 2012, was not immediately available for comment.