Dr. Widdowson seeks university records to challenge indefinite campus ban
Home News Dr. Widdowson seeks university records to challenge indefinite campus ban
LETHBRIDGE, AB: The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms announces that lawyers funded by the Justice Centre have applied to the Alberta Court of Justice for an order compelling the University of Lethbridge to produce records concerning its indefinite ban on Dr. Frances Widdowson entering campus. The university imposed the ban on February 4, 2026, after she attempted to engage students in an open discussion about residential schools. The records will support her defence against a trespassing charge and her constitutional challenge to the ban.
Dr. Widdowson attended campus at the invitation of Professor Emeritus Anthony Hall to lead a discussion examining the assertion that “The Residential Schools Were Genocidal.” The discussion used an interactive format called Spectrum Street Epistemology, which invites participants to indicate their level of agreement with the statement, explain the evidence and reasoning behind their position, and consider whether contrary evidence would change their views.
A crowd surrounded Dr. Widdowson and Professor Hall, used drums and instruments to drown out the discussion, and stole Dr. Widdowson’s belongings. Dr. Widdowson remained peaceful, but rather than issuing trespass notices to those disrupting the discussion, the university banned her from the campus, accusing her of disrupting university operations.
The application asks the court to order the production of records concerning the university’s decision to ban Dr. Widdowson from the campus, its internal discussions about her expression, and the events leading to her arrest on April 25, 2026. Records previously obtained through requests under Alberta’s Access to Information Act contain extensive redactions, including entire pages that have been blacked out.
Dr. Widdowson was arrested and charged with trespassing after returning to campus on April 25, 2026, to have coffee with students and explain the discussion method.
Constitutional lawyer Chris Fleury said, “Universities are not private residences or commercial locations that can use trespass legislation to exclude whomever they please. Universities in Alberta are bound by the Charter and must not unreasonably infringe an individual’s freedom of expression when excluding them from a campus.”
“Disagreement with a person’s views does not relieve a university of these constitutional obligations,” he added.
The proceedings follow Dr. Widdowson’s successful judicial review of the university’s cancellation of her planned 2023 lecture, “How Woke-ism Threatens Academic Freedom.” In that separate case, the Court found that the university’s decision was fundamentally flawed because it failed to expressly consider the Charter.
The current trespassing matter is scheduled for October 27, 2026, at 1:30 p.m. MT in Lethbridge.
The Justice Centre is Canada’s leading civil liberties organization defending Charter rights and freedoms in the courts of law and in the court of public opinion. Founded in 2010, the Justice Centre funds lawyers across Canada, relies entirely on voluntary donations to carry out its mission, and issues official tax receipts to donors.