Dr. Frances Widdowson was a tenured professor at Mount Royal University in the Department of Economics, Justice, and Policy Studies until she was terminated in late 2021. Her research focused on public policy in relation to indigenous people, including the causes of significant socioeconomic disparities between the indigenous and other Canadians. At times, she suggested that “identity politics” has presented barriers to academic freedom and open inquiry at institutions of higher learning.
In November 2022, University of Lethbridge (UL) philosophy professor Dr. Paul Viminitz invited Dr. Widdowson to speak to students, faculty, and the public at the UL on the topic of “How Woke-ism Threatens Academic Freedom.” Both Dr. Viminitz and Dr. Widdowson shared an interest in preserving conditions for freedom of expression, open inquiry, and dissent – essential values of academic freedom.
UL approved the event booking, scheduled for February 1, 2023. There would be a 40-minute presentation followed by a 40-minute question-and-answer period.
On January 25, however, senior officials in the UL’s Department of Indigenous Studies and various faculty demanded that the event be cancelled. UL President Mike Mahon initially resisted pressure to cancel the event. He eventually capitulated, however, and cancelled the event, citing concerns about the safety and diversity of the UL community and about expression that, in his view, minimized the significant and detrimental impact of Canada’s residential school system on indigenous people.
Despite the cancellation, Dr. Widdowson chose to speak in the UL Atrium on February 1. Students and faculty launched a large and noisy counter-protest, interfering with the ability of audience members to hear the presentation. Dr. Widdowson described the crowd as “an enormous mob of protestors, which I understand to have been several hundreds.” After moving to an adjacent area to continue the lecture with those who wished to hear, she continued to be drowned out by shouting, drumming, and chanting. The talk was eventually moved online that evening.
“My experience at the University of Lethbridge is a textbook case of how ‘woke-ism’ is threatening academic freedom and freedom of expression on university campuses,” said Dr. Widdowson. “Instead of encouraging faculty and students to engage with my ideas in order to reach a better understanding of totalitarian identity politics’ impact on the academy, the University of Lethbridge created an ‘unsafe space’ for critical thinking and open inquiry. This means that the development of knowledge and theoretical understanding is being compromised at this academic institution.”
With help from the Justice Centre, Dr. Widdowson, Dr. Viminitz, and UL student Jonah Pickle filed a constitutional challenge against the UL on July 26, 2023. In that challenge, they argue that the UL violated their freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly – protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The court action seeks a declaration that the UL breached the applicants’ freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, and freedom of peaceful assembly guaranteed under the Charter. This court action also seeks an injunction requiring the UL to permit the event to proceed on campus.
Jonah Pickle is a neuroscience student and an Arts & Science representative on the UL’s Students’ Union. He chose the UL because it had advertised its commitment to liberal education, free inquiry, and viewpoint diversity. In his experience, however, “[c]ampus life is more of woke political indoctrination and conformism than intellectual diversity. Opposing or even questioning prevailing woke dogmas on campus is highly alienating. Students even learn, in mandatory political training, that doubting or opposing woke dogma is ignorance that can be fixed with appropriate training.”
“It is unfortunate that Canadian universities have reached the point where this action is necessary. However, I am hopeful that this step will begin moving us in the right direction,” continued Mr. Pickle. “To advance our understanding of truth, it is vital to challenge accepted ideas and engage in debates over the interpretation of evidence. Sadly, the administration’s decision to concede to activists has deprived students of the opportunity to partake in this essential process. By calling for this cancellation, an alarming number of our professors and administrators have revealed to us that they’ve forgotten not only the value, but the necessity, of the principles our university was founded upon. When our right to freedom of expression clashes with the risk of offending someone on campus, we must always prioritize freedom of expression, for a right that can be limited by the feelings of others is no longer a right.”
As far as the applicants know at time of writing, the UL has not disciplined or otherwise addressed the conduct (e.g., name-calling, potentially defamatory allegations, and disruptive actions) of UL students and faculty.
“In a liberal democracy, it is essential that diverse voices and viewpoints be free to gather to share ideas, to seek truth, and to discuss policy,” says lawyer Glenn Blackett. “This is perhaps most essential on a post-secondary campus, which fails to serve its function without open inquiry and, as Dr. Widdowson says, rational disputation.”
Mr. Blackett continued, “The cancellation of an open event hosted and led by accomplished, engaging academics like Dr. Widdowson and Dr. Viminitz demonstrates the sorry state of university education in Canada. Increasingly, universities are in the business of interfering with the search for knowledge, on the premise that the truth is already known and that dissenting voices are somehow dangerous. It is, in other words, dogma, which is the opposite of science. If we can’t save our universities, there’s no telling what scientific, social, and economic progress we’re denying future Canadians.”
