An Ontario teacher who was silenced and removed from a school board meeting for questioning the age-appropriateness of gender-transition content in some elementary school library books says she is appealing a court decision that declined a judicial review of the board’s action.
Ms. Burjoski says the Divisional Court’s ruling to decline a judicial review is “deeply concerning.”
“This is not just about a school board meeting,” Ms. Burjoski said in the video. “It’s about the integrity of open dialogue on important issues in our educational system and other public forums.”
“Our democracy thrives on diverse opinions and the freedom to express them. It’s vital that our judicial system protect our charter rights against administrative overreach that stifles our free speech.”
The Epoch Times reached out to the school board for comment but did not hear back by publication time.
The school board had responded to the Divisional Court’s decision by saying it would continue to uphold its bylaws and policies.
Presentation Cut Short
In a presentation before the school board on Jan. 17, 2022, Ms. Burjoski shared her concerns about the age-appropriateness of the content of some children’s library books that discuss gender identity and transition. However, board chair Scott Piatkowski stopped her, saying she may be violating Ontario’s Human Rights Code.Ms. Burjoski was expressing concern about books available in elementary school libraries that made it “seem simple or even cool [to] take puberty blocks [blockers] or opposite sex hormones,” according to the court decision.
“This was not just a violation of my right to free expression, but a stark display of authoritarian speech suppression in a public forum where diverse viewpoints should be welcomed and discussed,” she said in her video.
Court Decision
In the Nov. 29 decision, the Divisional Court said “a high degree of deference” must be given to decisions by elected decision-makers like those at school boards.“The WRDSB trustees are accountable to their community and are well-versed in the goals of the education system and the boundaries of proper debate at meetings,” the court decision said.
“School boards should be free to act as modern, democratic, dynamic legal personalities, provided only that there be some statutory foundation for, and no express statutory prohibition of, their conduct.”
The court decision also said Ms. Burjoski was free to voice her opinion on the content of books in other forums.
Defamation Lawsuit
Ms. Burjoski’s defamation lawsuit, which is against the WRDSB and Mr. Piatkowski, is not connected to the judicial review but rather deals with the alleged reputational damage Ms. Burjoski experienced due to comments made by Mr. Piatkowski after the presentation.In media interviews following Ms. Burjoski’s attempted presentation before the school board, Mr. Piatkowski called her comments “transphobic.”