The Alberta government will be requiring post-secondary institutions to provide annual free speech reporting to Advanced Education. .“It is abundantly clear that more needs to be done to ensure our institutions are adequately protecting free speech,” said Alberta Advanced Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides in a Friday press release. .“Alberta’s post-secondary institutions should be bastions of free speech and academic freedom that promote critical thinking.” .This announcement comes after former Mount Royal University (MRU) professor Frances Widdowson gave a lecture about wokeism and academic freedom on Zoom on Wednesday after protestors blocked her from speaking at the University of Lethbridge. .READ MORE: Widdowson delivers talk on Zoom after 1,000 protestors stop her in Lethbridge.“Ironically, I was supposed to be giving this presentation at the University of Lethbridge tonight, but because of the president and his pandering to activists, this presentation was not allowed to go forward,” said Widdowson. .She said she showed up on U of L’s campus for her lecture and was met with 1,000 protestors. Security guards told her it could present a safety risk, so she opted to move her talk onto Zoom. .The release said Albertans are grateful for the ability to express themselves, and the provincial government wants to ensure this freedom is stronger. It said the voices of all Albertans deserve to be heard and respected. .The release went on to say the Alberta government is working to further protect free speech and academic freedom on post-secondary campuses. This is why post-secondary institutions will have to report on their efforts to protect campus free speech. .Nicolaides said campus free speech will be monitored through a report card. He said he will be working with university administrators to determine what should be reported and how it should be done. .The advanced education minister said he has not talked about funding as it relates to the report card. He said the Alberta government is "looking at developing this as a mechanism of public accountability and transparency." .Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has proposed hiring a free speech guardian to monitor and cut funding to universities which do not respect it. Nicolaides said a free speech guardian is an idea he is looking at, but his priority is developing and implementing the report card. .A study from the Macdonald-Laurier Institute in 2022 said 34% of Canadian university professors self-censor because they are concerned about the negative consequences if their true opinions on topics become known. .“I am proud of the work our government is doing to uphold Albertans' civil liberties,” said Alberta Civil Liberties Parliamentary Secretary Tracy Allard. .“This new reporting requirement delivers on Advanced Education’s mandate to ensure our post-secondary institutions are adequately protecting the academic freedom and free speech of students and faculty.”.This action furthers previous work in 2019 which required all 26 Alberta public post-secondary institutions endorse the Chicago Principles on free expression or develop a policy consistent with them. All institutions complied and implemented their policies by the deadline set in 2019, with an exception made for Burman University and its religious values. .This policy did not prevent Widdowson from being terminated from MRU for criticizing wokeism, which prompted her to take legal action in April to protect academic freedom and freedom of expression in universities. .READ MORE: MRU professor fights back after being fired for questioning ‘woke’ ideas.She was fired in 2021 for questioning topics such as truth and reconciliation with indigenous people, Black Lives Matter, and trans rights. .“Wokeism is the colloquial term used for the postmodern tactic of reducing scientific objectivity to subjective authoritarianism, imposing its arbitrary interpretation of what is acceptable,” she said. .MRU issued a statement after the firing.."The university unequivocally supports academic debate and will always defend the rights of faculty related to academic freedom," it said.."However, academic freedom does not justify harassment or discrimination." .Nicolaides concluded by saying he will “continue to explore greater steps we can take to strengthen free speech on campus.”."One of the main reasons why it's so important is because it is foundational to the mission of a place of higher learning," he said.
