Former university professor Frances Widdowson is asking an Alberta court to force the University of Lethbridge to release records surrounding its decision to ban her indefinitely from campus following a controversial discussion about residential schools.Lawyers funded by the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) have filed an application in the Alberta Court of Justice seeking documents related to the university's February 4, ban and Widdowson's subsequent arrest for trespassing.The records are being sought as part of her defence against the trespassing charge and a constitutional challenge to the university's decision to prohibit her from entering campus.Widdowson was banned after attending the university at the invitation of professor emeritus Anthony Hall to lead a discussion examining the statement, "The Residential Schools Were Genocidal."The discussion was organized using a method known as Spectrum Street Epistemology, which encourages participants to indicate whether they agree or disagree with a statement and explain the evidence supporting their positions.Participants are also asked to consider whether new or contradictory evidence might change their views.According to the Justice Centre, a crowd surrounded Widdowson and Hall during the event, using drums and musical instruments to drown out their discussion.The organization also alleges Widdowson's belongings were stolen during the confrontation.The Justice Centre maintains Widdowson remained peaceful throughout the incident and argues the university should have taken action against those disrupting the discussion rather than banning her.The university accused Widdowson of interfering with campus operations and issued an indefinite prohibition against her entering university property..Widdowson returned to campus on April 25, to meet students for coffee and explain the discussion method.She was subsequently arrested and charged with trespassing.Her lawyers are now seeking university records concerning the decision to impose the ban, internal discussions about her expression and communications surrounding the events leading to her arrest.The Justice Centre says documents previously obtained through Alberta's Access to Information Act were heavily censored, with some pages entirely blacked out.The organization argues the additional records are necessary to determine how university officials reached their decision and whether Widdowson's constitutional rights were properly considered.Constitutional lawyer Chris Fleury said Alberta universities cannot use trespassing laws to arbitrarily exclude individuals because of their opinions."Universities are not private residences or commercial locations that can use trespass legislation to exclude whomever they please," Fleury said."Universities in Alberta are bound by the Charter and must not unreasonably infringe an individual's freedom of expression when excluding them from a campus."Fleury said disagreement with an individual's opinions does not eliminate a university's legal responsibilities."Disagreement with a person's views does not relieve a university of these constitutional obligations," he said.The latest court proceedings follow an earlier legal victory for Widdowson involving the University of Lethbridge.In 2023, university officials cancelled her planned lecture titled "How Woke-ism Threatens Academic Freedom."Widdowson challenged that decision through a judicial review, arguing the university had failed to properly consider her freedom of expression..The court subsequently found the university's decision-making process was fundamentally flawed because officials had not expressly considered the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.The current case raises similar constitutional questions about the university's authority to restrict access to campus based on an individual's expression.The allegations surrounding the February confrontation and the legality of the campus ban remain contested issues in the proceedings.Widdowson's trespassing matter is scheduled to return to the Alberta Court of Justice in Lethbridge on October 27.
