VANCOUVER--The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled in favour of the Canadian Federation of Students-BC and the BC Teachers' Federation in their fight, for the right, to advertise on public transit.

In its ruling released this morning, in the case of Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority v. Canadian Federation of Students-British Columbia Component, the Court unanimously upheld the right to advertise on public transit as a freedom of expression right protected by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The decision stems from the Greater Vancouver Transit Authority and BC Transit rejecting advertisements from the Canadian Federation of Students-British Columbia (CFS-BC) and the BC Teachers' Federation (BCTF) during the months prior to the May 2005 BC election.

"Looking around the world today, it's clear that freedom of expression is at the core of an open democracy," said Shamus Reid, Chairperson of the CFS-BC. "This decision ensures the public's right to use public media to create dialogue on the issues that impact our lives, from tuition fees, to the minimum wage, to the environment."

The Canadian Federation of Students-British Columbia is BC's provincial student organization, representing 150,000 university and college students at all levels of post-secondary education in BC. It is non-partisan and affiliated with Canada's largest national student organization, the Canadian Federation of Students.