MAKE A SMALL ESSAY OUT OF THIS.

John Wick is an Orthodox Christian. He believes that he is a faithful servant of God; he is also considered by the members of his church a dedicated core member because he has not missed a single day of worship services since he joined the church. He also regularly volunteers his time as Sunday school teachers. He holds religious beliefs that abortion is harmful and contrary to God's desire.

John is also a medical student at the Continental University of Medicine (CUM). He entered the medicine program in 2020 and was to graduate with the class of 2024, in April 2024.

The CUM is a private university in Ontario. The CUM receives limited funding from the provincial government, and the university considers itself to be an autonomous entity free from the government's control and regulation. An Act respecting the Ontario Continental University gives the university a right to control and direct its affairs independently through the Board of Governors and the Senate. The CUM selects 80% of its board members while the remaining 20% members are appointed by the government. The CUM, like all post-secondary education institutions in Ontario, is subject to other provincial legislation and regulations, including the Advanced Education Administration Act (AEAA).

Section 3.1 of the AEAA mandates that post-secondary education institutions in Ontario adopt and implement policies concerning Respectful Work and Learning Environment (RWLE) and sexual assault. The CUM, with a view to comply with the provision, has established and implemented its Student Non-Academic Misconduct and Concerning Behaviour Policy and Sexual Assault Policy, both of which allow the university to impose various administrative measures on its students, if they fail to meet the professional expectations of medical students.

During his final year of studies, John made five posts to his Facebook account, which was made publicly accessible, i.e. anyone with access to the internet could see these posts. The posts included very lengthy pro-life essays authored by John. Guided by his religious beliefs, he referred those physicians performing abortions as

"abortionists" and alleged that they should be charged for first-degree murder. He also made contentious remarks, saying that "preborn human children are held as disposable and executable slaves to their mother's whims" and "a woman's right to choose and control her body as private is flawed because it is God who decides if and when a person, including a preborn child, dies."

These blog posts spurred outrages within the university, and the university received numerous confidential complaints about the posts, which in turn, raised concerns about John's professionalism, and character and integrity fit to be a physician in Ontario.

In September 2023, the Dean of the CUM - Dr. Winston - found out about the posts and met with John. John acknowledged that the posts were unprofessional but kept insisting that the posts were driven by his religious beliefs which he upholds utmost important for his life as God is the driving force behind him. John also expressed frustration that he should be free to present and communicate his view against abortion, outside of the CUM. In John's view, Facebook should be treated as a marketplace of ideas, and he is an indispensable voice within the marketplace. The Dean, on the other hand, requested that the posts be deleted, because they go against the universit's Student Non-Academic Misconduct and Concerning Behaviour Policy and Sexual Assault Policy. Specifically, the Dean referred John to the following passage concerning RWLE:

The University is dedicated to alleviating all manner of violence against women and the medicine program is dedicated to ensuring all medical students uphold the standards of the profession when encountering colleagues and patients, including women, who may have been the victims of sexual violence.

Ultimately, the meetings were unsuccessful in resolving the differences in the parties' views. At one point, the Dean got suspicious about the validity and sincerity of John's religious belief and asked Vice-Dean to conduct a search of his backpack, without requesting and obtaining his informed consent. The search led Vice-Dean to find a bag of controlled substance drugs in the backpack.

The Dean, pursuant to Student Non-Academic Misconduct and Concerning Behaviour Policy and Sexual Assault Policy, expelled John from the medical program, on the basis that he lacks the requisite character and integrity fit to be a physician in Ontario because of his Facebook posts and possession of the controlled substance drugs.

John was shocked and disappointed. He had two months left to graduate and move onto his residency. John believes that he could pursue Charter claims against the university. You are a lawyer specializing in human rights law, and John came to you for your expert legal advice.

Question: Considering the course materials (including lecture PPT slides and the textbook) and our discussions we had throughout the course, how would you advise John on his desire to bring Charter claims against the university and his chance of success to establish that their Charter rights are infringed? While you could provide comments on section 1 and obtain additional points, do not engage in the Oakes test analysis.