Whitepill Small victories: Judge reverses 2023 University cancellation of Francis Widdowson lecture

[Koba]

MSN

The University of Lethbridge’s cancellation of a 2023 guest lecture by Frances Widdowson in response to widespread objections was “fundamentally and fatally flawed” by failing to consider the speaker’s Charter rights, says a Court of King’s Bench judge. Widdowson, whose views on residential schools have sparked controversy, had been invited by Paul Viminitz, a U of L philosophy professor, to present a free Feb. 1 speech on campus titled How ‘Woke-ism’ Threatens Academic Freedom. School executives, in response to mounting criticism, cancelled the presentation two days before she was to speak.

The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, which filed the lawsuit in July 2023 with Pickles and Widdowson, called the ruling “a major victory for freedom of expression on university campuses.”
“This decision affirms that principle and the constitutional requirement that universities meaningfully consider freedom of expression when making decisions affecting expressive activities on campus,” centre president John Carpay said in a statement.

The university’s lawyers argued cancellation of the lecture was simply a decision to deny a room booking on campus, not an issue of freedom of expression. Further, it argued if free expression was an issue, Widdowson was a “legal stranger” to the university and not subject to its Charter commitments.
“Given the contents of the 2019 policy, and the fact that the university repeatedly referred to it in both the first statement and the second statement, it is clear that the university was knowingly involved in regulating students’ freedom of expression on campus when it made the decision,” Simard wrote.