Alberta Advanced Education Minister Rajan Sawhney said she spoke with Mount Royal University (MRU) about alleged restraining orders against former professor Frances Widdowson, and it said it was unaware of any. As advanced education minister, Sawhney said her role is to offer strategic advice and policy guidance, so she had no control over restraining orders. “But having said that, we do uphold the right for freedom of speech on all of our post-secondary institutions and in fact, we have required post-secondary institutions to provide an annual report talking about their freedom of speech policy, talking about any cancellations, if they’ve received any complaints around freedom of speech,” said Sawhney at a Thursday press scrum. “So that information is to be provided to us.” The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) said on Wednesday lawyers representing Widdowson have issued a demand to MRU for clarification regarding alleged restraining orders against her and details of the its solicitation policy following a disputed campus debate in November..Widdowson demands answers from Mount Royal University over alleged restraining orders, solicitation policy .Widdowson had been holding a debate about diversity, inclusion, and equity policies at MRU when a professor complained to campus security, prompting two officers to intervene. Widdowson had been informed several MRU professors had restraining orders against her — claims she denies prior knowledge of. Moreover, she was told her conversation violated solicitation rules by occurring near a doorway and was moved elsewhere. Sawhney followed up by saying the Alberta government has implemented policies requiring post-secondary institutions uphold freedom of expression. “So they do have to report to us annually in regards to the policies,” she said. The Alberta government said in 2023 it will be requiring post-secondary institutions to provide annual free speech reporting to Advanced Education. .UPDATED: Alberta government commits to strengthening campus free speech.“It is abundantly clear that more needs to be done to ensure our institutions are adequately protecting free speech,” said former Alberta advanced education minister Demetrios Nicolaides. “Alberta’s post-secondary institutions should be bastions of free speech and academic freedom that promote critical thinking.”
