In June 2023, Lynda di Armani attended a public school board meeting in Chilliwack, British Columbia. A grandmother and former school employee, she went to the meeting to express her concerns about a potential conflict of interest at the board. It had come to light that the board member who was seeking school funding to promote Pride events in schools was also the marketing director for the local Pride society. Ms. di Armani’s remarks were brief and calm.

The school board Chair, Willow Reichelt, along with the Vice-Chair, Carin Bondar, immediately interrupted and muted Ms. di Armani’s presentation, baselessly claiming that her remarks were somehow “discriminatory” and that “[t]here is no conflict of interest when you’re talking about basic human rights.”

After being interrupted four times in rapid succession, Ms. di Armani was ordered to sit down before she had finished. The Chair then muted the livestream of the public meeting. The viewing audience could not then hear Ms. di Armani’s response or the statements of the Chair. Unfortunately, this is part of a pattern of censorship at this school board.

The Board’s message has been clear: if we dislike your expression, we will silence you. We will strike your voice from the public record in the name of “human rights” and preventing “discrimination.”

Fortunately, the Supreme Court of Canada has been very clear: public schools are government bodies subject to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Section 2(b) of the Charter protects the freedoms of thought, belief, opinion, and expression of all Canadians, including at school board meetings.

School board censorship silences debate. It violates the right of speakers to express themselves. It violates the right of board members and the listening public to access a diversity of perspectives. It disrupts democracy and undermines democratic accountability.

Unfortunately, the problem of “school board censorship” is not unique to British Columbia.

It happened to Trustee Mike Ramsay in Waterloo, Ontario. It happened to former elementary school teacher Carolyn Burjoski in the same district. Increasingly, school boards across the country are neglecting their Charter obligations to protect expression. Instead, they are disciplining trustees, silencing dissent, and depriving the public of necessary debate on critical issues.

Ms. di Armani knows that school boards should not mute disagreement. On the contrary, disagreement and debate are part of a healthy democracy.

Thanks to your donations, JCCF lawyers helped Lynda di Armani file a constitutional challenge against the school board in the Supreme Court of British Columbia.

She is asking the Court to declare that the school board violated her Charter rights and the Charter rights of the listening public. She seeks a Court Order that allows the public to record school board meetings themselves as a measure that would prevent school board censorship in the future.

We, alongside the JCCF, will continue to help Lynda di Armani fight censorship in Chilliwack through her constitutional challenge in the Supreme Court of British Columbia. Will you join us in this fight for our basic rights?