A judge from the Court of King's Bench has ruled that the University of Lethbridge acted unlawfully when it blocked a scheduled presentation by Frances Widdowson. The decision found that the institution failed to properly integrate Charter rights into its administrative process.
Justice Chris Simard's rebuke of the University of Lethbridge
The Court of King's Bench has issued a ruling that the University of Lethbridge's decision to cancel a lecture by former professor Frances Widdowson was legally unsound. According to the report, Justice Chris Simard found the university's cancellation was "fundamentally flawed" because it failed to account for the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The dispute began in early 2023 when Widdowson was scheduled to present a talk titled "How 'Woke-ism' Threatens Academic Freedom ." While the University of Lethbridge initially indicated it would permit the event under its free-expression policy, the institution later reversed its position, citing a conflict with its institutional values.
Sections 2(b) and 2(c) of the Charter at the center of the dispute
The legal challenge brought by Widdowson and student Jonah Pickle focused on the university's failure to respect specific constitutional protections. The court found that the University of Lethbridge's bureaucratic process failed to properly reference Section 2(b) of the Charter, which protects freedom of expression, and Section 2(c), which protects freedom of peaceful assembly.
While the court did not find a breach regarding the right to peaceful assembly, it was clear that the university's decision-making process was insufficient. The ruling highlights a growing tension in Canadian academia between maintaining community standards and upholding the constitutional rights of students and faculty.
Why campus speech regulation is now a "governmental act"
A significant aspect of Justice Chris Simard's ruling is the classification of campus speech regulation as a "governmental act." The judge emphasized that because the University of Lethbridge regulates what individuals can say on public campus grounds, its actions fall under the purview of the Charter, regardless of its status as a non-governmental entity.
This precedent sets a high bar for all publicly funded universities in Canada. As the report notes, these institutions must now expressly weigh the Charter and articulate how they balance their own institutional interests against the fundamental right to free expression when hosting controversial speakers.
The unresolved status of the Widdowson lecture
Despite the legal victory for Widdowson, the ruling does not mandate that the University of Lethbridge must host the cancelled lecture .. Instead, the court has required the institution to re-examine its decision through a lens that recognizes the Charter rights of its members.
Several questions remain regarding how the University of Lethbridge will proceed with this re-evaluation. it is currently unknown if the university will attempt to host a different version of the lecture or if it will find a new way to justify its previous restrictions. Furthermore, the ruling leaves open whether the university's internal policies will be formally amended to include explicit Charter-based decision-making protocols.
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