A defamation lawsuit by a school trustee in Chilliwack, B.C., will proceed against the former president of a teachers union after the B.C. Court of Appeal overturned a lower court ruling.
June 09, 2021 - 2:46 PM
VANCOUVER - A defamation lawsuit by a school trustee in Chilliwack, B.C., will proceed against the former president of a teachers union after the B.C. Court of Appeal overturned a lower court ruling.
In a unanimous decision, three justices of the Appeal Court say the trial judge s rejection of Barry Neufeld s defamation case failed to consider the chilling effect comments made by Glen Hansman could have on public debate, and that the judge erred in assessing whether there was likely a valid defence of fair comment.
The court says Hansman, who was then the president of the BC Teachers Federation, made highly critical comments after Neufeld issued negative statements about the way a program designed to teach children about sexual orientation was being implemented in the province.
Chilling effect of comments against trustee Barry Neufeld revive defamation suit - BC News castanet.net - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from castanet.net Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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At one North Vancouver elementary school, 215 empty chairs were placed on the playing field with cedar sprigs on the seats, at another, students arranged 215 orange ribbons.
District administrator Brad Baker became emotional while recounting the stories on Wednesday, but each of the area’s 33 schools, like many around B.C., found ways to honour the 215 children discovered buried in unmarked graves at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School.
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Try refreshing your browser, or B.C. schools find ways to honour children of Kamloops residential school Back to video
“We’re noticing two pathways right now in schools,” Baker said. “One is obviously honouring the tragedy of the 215 kids who were found at Kamloops Indian Residential School.
UPDATE: Trudeau vows help after Indigenous kids’ unmarked graves found, but offers no details
(UPDATE: June 1 @ 5:33 am): As memorials with tiny shoes have elicited cries of grief across the nation, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his government are facing tough questions about why little has been done to implement recommendations released six years ago to find and document the unmarked graves of Indigenous children.
Speaking in sombre tones at a virtual event in Ottawa Monday, Trudeau reflected on the recent discovery of the remains of 215 children on the grounds of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School, calling it “heartbreaking news.”