BC School Trustee Quits After Tribunal Fines Former Trustee Critical of Gender Ideology $750,000

Chilliwack, B.C., school board member Laurie Throness said he is stepping down from his position due to a recent B.C. Human Rights Tribunal judgment against former trustee Barry Neufeld.

The tribunal fined Neufeld $750,000 plus interest on Feb. 18 for comments he has made criticizing gender ideology and Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) curriculum in schools between 2017 and 2022 while serving on Chilliwack’s school board.

In his resignation statement, Throness said the ruling against Neufeld has made him “no longer feel safe” in expressing views on the board.

“I can longer do my job,” Throness wrote in his Feb. 26 resignation statement posted  on Facebook.

“All democratically-elected officials must feel comfortable to speak their mind without worrying about accusations of workplace discrimination. Since I no longer feel safe in expressing myself on the Board in legitimate ways, the only proper course is to resign.”

‘Absolute-Zero Chill’

Throness said his resignation is effective immediately, adding that the tribunal’s decision puts “an absolute-zero chill” on free speech.

“The effect of the judgment is clear; it is a warning and a threat that places an absolute-zero chill upon public discourse and the freedom of speech of elected trustees,” he wrote. “While affirming the freedom of speech on paper, the result of the Tribunal’s decision is to destroy it.”

In terms of specific examples where he felt his right to legally speak freely about his views was infringed by the tribunal’s ruling, Throness said he wanted to call for a suspension of SOGI teaching resources until an investigation could be done into whether such materials worsened the mental health of Tumbler Ridge school shooter Jesse Van Rootselaar.

SOGI resources have been used in schools to teach students about different sexual orientations and gender identities.

Police say Van Rootselaar’s mother and half-brother were killed by the suspect before the individual continued on to Tumbler Ridge Secondary School and murdered five young students and one teacher. Van Rootselaar died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after authorities arrived on scene, according to police.

The school shooting also injured 27 other individuals, one of whom remains in hospital in serious condition.

Van Rootselaar had begun a gender transition process from male to female six years ago, according to police. Social media records recovered of Van Rootselaar’s online footprint include an image of an armed cartoon character in front of the transgender flag.

Social media records also showed the suspect speaking about illegal drug use, anxiety over the intention of beginning hormone replacement therapy, and past incidences of drug-fueled psychosis.

Police say Van Rootselaar dropped out of school four years ago.

In announcing his resignation, Throness called on B.C.’s legislature to pass a bill guaranteeing free speech for school board trustees such as himself.

“I call upon the BC Legislature to affirm the freedom of speech upon which democracy relies, and pass a bill placing the speech of school board trustees, municipal councilors and regional district directors outside the purview of the Tribunal,” he wrote.

Neufeld Case

Neufeld was ordered by the tribunal to pay the $750,000 to members of the Chilliwack Teachers’ Association who identify themselves as LGBT. The association represents public school teachers in Chilliwack’s School District 33 and is the local chapter of the B.C. Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) union.

The Feb. 18 tribunal ruling came more than eight years after the BCTF and Chilliwack Teachers’ Association first submitted a human rights complaint, alleging that Neufeld’s online and offline comments against SOGI in schools and gender ideology incited “hatred or contempt” against LGBT people.

Neufeld denies the charges.

“The Tribunal found me guilty of hate speech for refusing to agree that there are more than two genders and ordered me to pay $750,000 to the Chilliwack Teacher’s Association to compensate the hurt feelings of their Queer union members,” Neufeld wrote in a statement on his website.

“I am sure they know I can never begin to pay this, but it sets a precedent, and in the future, no one else will ever dare to criticize their sacred Gender Ideology.”

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has called the ruling against Neufeld “insane and Orwellian,” while British comedian John Cleese said he will no longer be coming to B.C. on his Canadian tour due to the decision.

For its part, the BCTF has praised the tribunal’s ruling against Neufeld as a “huge win” for LGBT people.

“Today’s decision is a huge win for 2SLGBTQIA+ rights,” BCTF President Carole Gordon wrote in a Feb. 18 statement. “It affirms that discriminatory and hateful rhetoric has no place in our public education system—especially when it comes from someone entrusted with a leadership position.”

B.C. Human Rights Commissioner Kasari Govender also applauded the tribunal’s decision, saying Feb. 19 that it “affirms that hateful statements or publications are not shielded from the Human Rights Code because they are part of public or political discourse.”

“Publishing statements that deny trans identities and rely on stereotypes create significant harm,” Govender added.

Neufeld has said he will challenge the fine against him at the B.C. Supreme Court. His lawyer has said the process may take several years to reach a resolution.

The B.C. Human Rights Tribunal is a government-created body that rules on discrimination complaints it receives and judges them under the B.C. Human Rights Code. It can require training or other changes at companies or institutions as well as order fines; however, it has no power to lay criminal charges, jail anyone, or award mandatory punitive damages.

Although the tribunal’s rulings are legally binding, parties are given the right to ask for a judicial review via the B.C. Supreme Court.

Jennifer Cowan contributed to this report.