CALGARY, AB: The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms announces that lawyers acting on behalf of Professor Frances Widdowson sent a demand letter to Mount Royal University (MRU) in Calgary on November 25, 2024. The letter demands copies of any restraining orders against Professor Widdowson and a copy of the university’s solicitation policy.
On November 16, 2024, Professor Widdowson, along with an MRU student and another participant, staged an informal debate on campus using a conversational method known as Spectrum Street Epistemology (SSE)– a non-confrontational method of challenging someone’s deeply held beliefs through conversation.
During the conversation, an MRU professor apparently complained to campus security services. Two security officers were dispatched and reported that their conversation had occurred within two meters of a doorway. Professor Widdowson moved their conversation elsewhere on campus. Professor Widdowson was also informed that several MRU professors had restraining orders against her. Professor Widdowson was not aware of any restraining orders against her. Finally, the security officers advised that approaching students to open a dialogue was as violation of MRU’s solicitation policy.
Professor Widdowson believes that MRU is attempting to stifle freedom of expression and critical debate. She stated, “Spectrum Street Epistemology is an incredibly important method to bring to universities that are threatening academic freedom by imposing prescribed doctrines that result in institutional censorship. Mount Royal University’s apparent attempt to intimidate and interfere with the session, where we explored the evidence for claims about its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policies, is again an indication of how it is failing to uphold its mission to foster critical thinking and open inquiry.”
Professor Widdowson joined MRU in 2008 and was granted tenure in 2011, specializing in Indigenous policy. MRU terminated her in 2021, however, after several professors submitted harassment complaints against her for statements she had made on X in what became known as a “Twitter War.”
In early October 2024, following a hearing spanning 10 months and involving 25 witnesses, an arbitrator determined that Professor Widdowson’s termination was disproportionate to her conduct. During the arbitration process, her faculty association had stated that there was no evidence of harassment and that the case against her violated her academic freedom.
Arbitrator David Phillip Jones in his decision stated, “She has controversial views on a number of topics. However, there has never been a complaint about the quality or ethics of her scholarship; she has never received performance management counselling for either her teaching or scholarship; and the university has supported and recognized her scholarly activities.”
Now, in November 2024, it appears that MRU continues to pursue a policy of censorship against Professor Widdowson, stifling critical debates about important political and social issues by pointing to restraining orders and solicitation policies.
Professor Widdowson’s lawyer, Glenn Blackett, stated, “We all know there is a problem with free speech on campus – but to claim that people aren’t even allowed to approach one another to speak is just parody.”
