Brandon Langhjelm Memorial Essay

In November 2021, the Justice Centre announced the Brandon Langhjelm Memorial Essay Contest, in tribute to lawyer Brandon, who passed away on October 25, 2021. Despite being born with a significant disability, a connective tissue disorder called Loeys-Dietz syndrome, Brandon graduated with a B.A. in History and later went on to obtain his law degree. He began working for the Justice Centre in 2018 and won his most significant court case in 2020, where he challenged the decision of the City of New Westminster to cancel an ethnic church’s youth conference because the City did not like one of the speakers. Brandon was making court appearances on behalf of the Justice Centre until September 2021, when he was hospitalized and diagnosed with stage four cancer. Brandon faced life’s greatest challenge just like he had faced and overcome other lesser challenges in his life with courage, conviction and trust in God.

The 2023 Essay Contest Questions

Option 1: Free speech and the internet

Canadian governments are implementing policies and laws that limit freedom of expression online. Focus on one case (or related cases) of governments limiting freedom of expression online. Are these limitations reasonable? If they are unreasonable, why?

Option 2: Protests, free speech, and democracy

Protests are considered to be a kind of expression or a way of expressing oneself. Sometimes, governments place limitations on the ability of Canadians to express themselves through protesting. Focus on one case (or related cases) of governments limiting the ability of Canadians to protest. Were these limitations reasonable? If they were unreasonable, why? Further, why is the ability to protest an important feature of a healthy democracy?