A teacher from the Waterloo area, who was removed from a meeting of the state school board in January after her comments were considered transphobic by the president, is now suing the board.
Carolyn Burjoski, who has since retired, has filed a lawsuit against the Waterloo School Board and President Scott Piatowski for defamation, libel and libel, as well as damage to emotional distress.
In January, Bourgeois delegated to a virtual meeting of the school board. Her presentation raised concerns that some books in the school library on sexuality were not suitable for children. She cites a book that discusses asexuality and another about a transgender teenager as specific examples.
In the middle of her presentation, President Piatowski stopped her, citing fears that her comments violated the Ontario Human Rights Code.
She was then removed from the virtual meeting and a video of the meeting was downloaded from social media.
Court documents show that Bourgeois is suing for $ 1.75 million.
The documents say the statements used by the board and Piatowski to describe Bourgeois are false and damage her reputation.
Burdjoski claims that the comments have caused significant embarrassment, suffering, anxiety and harm, and wrongly label her as a transphobia and a fanatic.
Bourgeois refused an interview with CTV Kitchener, but she posted a video on social media.
“The huge stress for me and my family from these events was huge,” she said in a video posted on Twitter on May 4. “On January 22. I collapsed with extreme anxiety and was taken to hospital by ambulance. I’m still recovering from this trauma. “
In a statement to CTV News, Bourgeois’s lawyer, Justin Heimpel, said they had given the board and its chairman the opportunity to withdraw a public apology. They do not.
“Burzowski’s hope is that by pursuing this claim, it will help ensure that future school boards will not be able to silence and slander delegations that express concerns that they do not want to hear or that are contrary to their ideology.” said Heimpel in part.
CTV News contacted the school board of the Waterloo and Piatowski districts, and both declined to comment.
Add Comment