Ilene Busch-Vishniac, former University of Saskatchewan president, has launched an $8-million lawsuit against the school, its Board of Governors and Premier Brad Wall for breach of contract and defamation.
Court documents say the Saskatchewan government had nothing to do with firing the president of the University of Saskatchewan.
Ilene Busch-Vishniac filed a lawsuit earlier this year alleging Premier Brad Wall and former advanced education minister Rob Norris played roles in her termination.
Statements of defence recently filed on behalf of Mr. Wall and Mr. Norris describe the suit as "scandalous, frivolous and vexatious."
"The claim has been brought against the premier for the purpose of publicity and to exert political pressure on the defendants," says one of the documents.
The documents further state that the board made the decision independently. The suit also names several university board members. None of the allegations has been proven in court.
Ms. Busch-Vishniac was fired in 2014 following an outpouring of support for professor Robert Buckingham. Mr. Buckingham was stripped of his tenure and fired from his job as head of the university's School of Public Health for speaking out about planned budget cuts.
His firing raised a national outcry about free speech and its role in education and raised concerns from academic leaders. The university later backtracked and rehired Mr. Buckingham, but did not reinstate him as executive director of the health school.
Hundreds of students, staff and alumni later staged a protest over the budget cuts and demanded Ms. Busch-Vishniac resign. Days later, the university's board of governors announced her termination as president. Ms. Busch-Vishniac continued to work as a professor in the university's Department of Mechanical Engineering. She resigned from that job last month.
The university's new president, Peter Stoicheff, has said the university will not continue with the controversial cuts under a program called TranformUS.