CALGARY, AB: The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms announces that lawyers for Dr. Frances Widdowson and former student Jonah Pickle will appear at the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta on April 10, 2026, for a judicial review of the University of Lethbridge’s decision to cancel a public lecture by Dr. Frances Widdowson. Dr. Widdowson is a former tenured professor known for her research in indigenous public policy and for encouraging open debate and discussion at Canadian universities.
The judicial review will consider whether the University’s cancellation violated the applicants’ freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly, protected under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Dr. Widdowson had been invited to speak at the University in early 2023 on the topic of academic freedom. The event was approved and scheduled, but was cancelled shortly before it was to take place following pressure from faculty and others on campus.
Despite the cancellation, Dr. Widdowson attempted to deliver her lecture on campus. The event was disrupted by a large protest, with shouting, chanting, and noise preventing attendees from hearing the presentation.
The University justified its decision, in part, by pointing to obligations under Alberta’s Occupational Health and Safety Act to maintain a workplace free from “harassment” and risks to “psychological and social wellbeing.” However, the applicants were denied the right to challenge those provisions under the Charter in an earlier procedural ruling.
The legal challenge was filed in July 2023. Constitutional lawyer Glenn Blackett says the case is an opportunity to clarify the scope of freedom of expression on university campuses.
“In a free and democratic society, universities are supposed to be places where ideas are debated, challenged, and tested – where students learn to think critically by exposure to difficult new ideas,” said Mr. Blackett.
Mr. Blackett continued, “The University here claimed it was cancelling free speech to protect its indigenous students. Those students might receive a parchment, but they will have been denied a university education.”
The applicants are asking the Court to declare that the University breached their Charter freedoms and to affirm that public universities must respect and protect open inquiry and debate.
