Former BC School Trustee Serves Jail Time Over Defamation Case

A former B.C. school trustee critical of SOGI school resources has been jailed for one day for failing to pay damages in a defamation case where he called another trustee “that striptease artist.”

Former Chilliwack school trustee Barry Neufeld appeared at the Chilliwack Law Courts on Nov. 24  after being ordered to spend one day at Ford Mountain Correctional Centre for failing to comply with a 2024 court order in a defamation case brought by trustee Carin Bondar. 

Neufeld made the “striptease artist” comment about Bondar in a Sept. 21, 2022, online podcast, referencing a 2014 parody video in which she appeared. Based on Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball” music video a year earlier, the parody video about evolution and natural selection shows Bondar sitting on a wrecking ball wearing underpants and a sleeveless T-shirt. She also “briefly appears naked,” according to the court document.

Bondar argued his remarks, made during a byelection period, implied she was not fit for public office.

“There is a widely held societal view that strip-tease artistry is dishonourable or shameful, and particularly that it is inappropriate of a candidate for public office and a school trustee,” Bondar said in her claim, which was filed in November 2022.

Neufeld argued that his comments were justified or protected by fair comment or qualified privilege doctrines.

In his April 2024 decision, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Michael Stephens said Neufeld’s words “crossed the line and constituted defamation,” ordering him to pay to pay $35,000 in general damages and $10,000 in punitive damages.

The court dismissed Neufeld’s appeal of the decision filed in February, saying there were “no reviewable errors” in it.

Since the order from Justice Stephens was not paid and Neufeld subsequently failed to appear in court, additional court costs of $8,703.75 listed as “expenses of service” was added to the $45,000 for a total owing of $53,713.75.

In a video posted to his Facebook page on Nov. 24, Neufeld said he was unable to make the payment.

“Despite my efforts to appeal, I lost the case. Now I face a financial penalty of over $53,000, which I simply cannot afford to pay,” he said.

As a result, he said, a judge issued a warrant for him to spend time at Ford Mountain Correctional Centre because he could not pay the damages.

Neufeld has spoken out against gender ideology in schools since 2017, calling it child abuse. He said his comments resulted in “relentless attacks from the media, unions, and political leaders.”

“They slandered me and called for my resignation, but I refused to back down. I believe, then, as I do now, that educators should focus on academic excellence, not ideological indoctrination,” he said.

Neufeld said that it has been “a long and difficult journey,” and that he has “stood firm” in his commitment to “protect children from confusion, sexualization and irreversible harm.”

The Epoch Times attempted to contact Bondar for comment but did not hear back by publication time.