Commentary
University of Lethbridge president Michael J. Mahon’s recent cancellation of a talk by Frances Widdowson marks yet another failure of Canadian universities to maintain open academic environments where candid speech and robust discourse are encouraged.
Dr. Widdowson is a noted scholar of aboriginal issues whose views diverge from the mainstream narrative concerning Canada’s treatment of its aboriginal peoples. Unlike Mr. Trudeau, for example, she doesn’t think Canadians were “genocidal.” She believes that despite their many failings, residential schools bestowed educational benefits.  And she has dissenting views concerning the vexed question of reconciliation. For many, she’s a heretic….