University of Lethbridge will not host scheduled lecture by controversial guest speaker
The University of Lethbridge, following a great deal of pushback from students and members of the public, says it will not provide space for a planned lecture from a controversial guest speaker.
Frances Widdowson was fired from Calgary's Mount Royal University after she made controversial comments about the Black Lives Matter movement and Canada's residential school system.
She was scheduled for a speaking engagement at the University of Lethbridge on Feb. 1, but the school's president says the facility will no longer be accommodating space for the appearance.
Last week, U of L president Mike Mahon said Widdowson was invited to speak at the institution by another faculty member and emphasized the school's strong feelings about "the value and necessity of freedom of expression."
However, Mahon added that the school should also be cognizant of safety in the school's diverse community.
According to an updated statement, released Monday morning, he said the school was changing its view on Widdowson's speaking engagement.
"In 2019, the university developed a statement that ensured a commitment to free expression on our campus. Our statement acknowledges the university must be able to reasonably regulate the use of facilities, time, place and manner of expression," he said.
"To ensure our community is safe, in the context of this planned lecture, the university will not provide space for this public lecture to occur on campus."
Widdowson – who was hired by MRU to be "a critic of Indigenous policy" – was fired on Dec. 20, 2021, after students complained over the comments she made.
MRU never divulged the true reason for her dismissal, but Widdowson told CTV News last year that she was terminated over the "woke culture" on campus.
"I was questioning woke-ism, woke ideas at the university, so asking questions, and this could not be tolerated by woke activists, which is basically identity politics that has become totalitarian," she said in January 2022.
"That's kind of the environment that was gradually becoming more and more poisonous."
News of her appearance at the U of L reached the media last week and the school first indicated they would have the speech go ahead while providing an opposing position to counter her arguments.
Some students told CTV News that that wasn't enough when it came to someone who "made a career" from discrediting survivors of Canada's residential school system.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Air traveller complaints to Canadian Transportation Agency hit new high
The Canadian Transportation Agency has hit a record high of more than 71,000 complaints in a backlog. The quasi-judicial regulator and tribunal tasked with settling disputes between customers and the airlines says the backlog is growing because the number of incoming complaints keeps increasing.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid says he has Bell's palsy
Philadelphia 76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid has been diagnosed with Bell’s palsy, a form of facial paralysis he says has affected him since before the play-in tournament.
U.S. flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.