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Home<\/a> News<\/a> Dr. Widdowson seeks university records to challenge indefinite campus ban<\/p>\n\n\n\n LETHBRIDGE, AB: <\/strong>The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms<\/a> announces that lawyers funded by the Justice Centre have applied to the Alberta Court of Justice<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dr. Widdowson attended campus at the invitation of Professor Emeritus Anthony Hall to lead a discussion examining the assertion that \u201cThe Residential Schools Were Genocidal.\u201d 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A crowd surrounded Dr. Widdowson and Professor Hall, used drums and instruments to drown out the discussion, and stole Dr. Widdowson\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The application asks the court to order the production of records concerning the university\u2019s 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\u2019s Access to Information Act<\/em> contain extensive redactions, including entire pages that have been blacked out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Constitutional lawyer Chris Fleury said, \u201cUniversities 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 <\/em>and must not unreasonably infringe an individual\u2019s freedom of expression when excluding them from a campus.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDisagreement with a person\u2019s views does not relieve a university of these constitutional obligations,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The proceedings follow Dr. Widdowson\u2019s successful judicial review of the university\u2019s cancellation of her planned 2023 lecture, \u201cHow Woke-ism Threatens Academic Freedom.\u201d In that separate case, the Court found that the university\u2019s decision was fundamentally flawed because it failed to expressly consider the Charter<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The current trespassing matter is scheduled for October 27, 2026, at 1:30 p.m. MT in Lethbridge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Justice Centre is Canada\u2019s 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.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 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 … Continue reading