Alberta’s Court of Appeal has dismissed a constitutional challenge to the province’s Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) “safe spaces” provisions, upholding a lower court ruling that prevented the case from proceeding.Dr. Frances Widdowson and student Jonah Pickle had sought to challenge OHSA’s “harassment” and “psychological safety” mandates, which require employers to police workplace speech under threat of fines or imprisonment. The case arose after the University of Lethbridge cancelled Dr. Widdowson’s 2023 lecture, How Woke-ism Threatens Academic Freedom.Despite the cancellation, Widdowson attempted to speak on campus but was drowned out by hundreds of protesting students and faculty. .She and Pickle later filed a constitutional challenge with the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, arguing that the university’s actions infringed on their freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly. The university, for the first time in written argument, cited its safe spaces obligations under OHSA as part of the rationale for the cancellation.“OHSA’s safe spaces provisions are a serious threat to Charter freedoms,” said constitutional lawyer Glenn Blackett. “Employers who don’t censor ‘unsafe’ speech are liable to be fined or even jailed. This isn’t just the government censoring speech — it is the government requiring private citizens to censor speech too.”The Court’s decision means the legislation can continue to evade Charter scrutiny, raising concerns over vague laws limiting free expression. Lawyers involved in the case say they will continue pursuing legal avenues to defend Canadians’ rights to free expression and conscience against compelled censorship.
