On September 17, 2026, McNally Robinson bookstore held a book launch for the book edited by Sean Carleton and Niigaan Sinclair. The book launch was open to the public.
Although Frances Widdowson was planning on attending the launch, and had booked a plane ticket to Winnipeg for such a purpose, she was sent an email with the following letter on September 16.
On September 17, 2026, when she was doing a livestream in Winnipeg, Widdowson received a telephone call from the Winnipeg Police Service liaison Remillard (at time stamp 3:15). Remillard told her that aboriginal groups were planning on busing in 400 people from the reserves to protest her presence.
When Widdowson was travelling to the launch, she heard that Jordan, who was in the store, had been given a barring notice because of his association with her.
Then, in front of the bookstore, two people who spoke to Widdowson out front were denied entry – Kent (23:07, 26:45, 31:49) and a person who just showed up to ask what was happening (23:33).
In commenting on Widdowson’s barring and being forced to stand outside on the opposite sidewalk, Dennis Ward, anchor for the Aboriginal Peoples’ Television Network wondered whether Widdowson could be “sen[t] a bill for all the police hours wasted today”. University of Winnipeg professor Dawnis Kennedy asserted that Widdowson should be “sued to recoup the cost”.
APTN’s coverage of the story is here:
The one person who was associated with Widdowson who was able to gain entry was Anthony Hall, professor emeritus from the University of Lethbridge, who spent two decades in the Department of Native Studies. Hall arrived separately and therefore it was not discovered that he was a colleague of Widdowson’s. Hall gave a presentation to the group about what he witnessed at the launch.
