Dr. Frances Widdowson is embarking on a Canada-wide tour to champion academic freedom, expose woke ideologies like indigenization and investigate the truth about residential schools. Widdowson, was a professor of economics, justice and policy studies at Mount Royal University until she was fired in 2020 for challenging the narrative of what happened at Canada’s residential schools and the Black Lives Matter campaign. She sued the university for wrongful dismissal and won through arbitration, but she didn’t get her job back. The court battle continues, with Widdowson refusing to give up until she is rightfully instated in her former position. .Feds continue to condemn indigenous residential school ‘denialism’ despite no bodies found to date. Widdowson told the Western Standard academic freedom is the major threat that universities are facing. “Universities have become corporate entities which don’t really value the open and honest exchange of ideas anymore,” said Widdowson. “They’re run by managers to be consistent with whatever the brand of the university is. They often have a political slant that they are trying to use to impose a particular ideology on people.” .EXCLUSIVE: City of Calgary silent on park exhibition falsely claiming hoax of ‘indigenous children found buried’.Indigenization, which is “messaging” or “signalling” meant to indicate the “right way to think about” the indigenous experience by “infusing all aspects of university with indigenous culture,” is Mount Royal’s “main brand,” she said. “It’s often coupled now with decolonization.”“This can be innocuous, like indigenous artwork put up, studying various indigenous aspects, that’s all fine. The problem is when you want to incorporate unscientific beliefs into the science curriculum — like demanding that indigenous spiritual beliefs be accepted as being true in various aspects of curriculum.” “Now decolonization has been brought in, which is taking out of the universities those aspects perceived to be oppressive to indigenous people. So taking out books out of the library, book titles, vocabulary. You have terms which are valid, but are now seen as being offensive.”“(At Mount Royal) they’ll have on screens various indoctrination points, they have all sorts of messaging they’re giving to professors and students as to what the correct thing to believe is — and if you don’t accept that, and you challenge that, you’re going to be disadvantaged in the institution.”“Wokism is identity politics that’s become totalitarian. So if someone believes they are a genocide survivor, which many indigenous people do, and you don’t affirm that, you'll be subject to all different kids of pressures.”“And compassion is what’s used to get you to go along with this increasing autocratic character of these institutions. Wokeism uses compassion to impose its autocratic agenda on people.” .NDPs want jail time for 'downplaying’ residential school system.On Monday, Widdowson will head to Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, ON, to present on “what are indigenous ways of knowing and what place does it have in the university.” “These are in the collective agreements now of universities,” she said. “Nobody knows what they are.”“Some of them are easily incorporated, others are anti-scientific and should not be incorporated into, definitely the science curriculum, now the anthropology curriculum, that’s another matter. You can study religion, but it’s done academically, you don’t have to be a person that accepts indigenous ways of knowing to study indigenous ways of knowing.” The next day she will head to nearby Brock University in St. Catharines, where she will discuss her story of being “fired due to indigenization,” which is coupled with decolonization and Tuesday evening at Brock she’s hosting an event to discuss whether the unmarked graves in Kamloops narrative is just plain wrong — or a “hoax.” To make the latter claim, she pointed out, one would have to prove intent to mislead. Tour dates are in the works for universities in Montreal, Halifax and British Columbia. She said she is willing to “go to any university in Canada where a professor will book space.” .WATCH: Indigenous leaders throw legacy media reporter out of press conference.Both the University of Regina and the University of Lethbridge attempted to censor Widdowson. Her recent events in Regina were rescinded just a couple days prior, and in 2023, Lethbridge cancelled her event two days beforehand — she held the event anyway, and 700 people attended. Widdowson said it’s not right for a university to determine “the right way of thinking about political issues.” “Universities should be neutral on these kinds of questions — and you provide a forum for people to come discuss these issues, you don't have an opinion yourself.” Widdowson, represented by the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, will face the University of Lethbridge in court in February 2025. "I will not stop," said Widdowson."I will push it as far as I can take it. I will not be bought off, I will not accept anything except for what is just. And this is so unjust.""Everyone keeps telling me to keep my head down and just take this multi-million dollar settlement. But this is my life, that's not something that is a concern to me. And universities should not just be able to pay people off so they can continue down their totalitarian path."
