Canadian School Board Facing More Legal Action for Allegedly Censoring Public

A British Columbia school board, already facing legal action for allegedly restricting speech during its public meetings, may soon see additional civil suits, as both a current and a former trustee are making similar accusations.

The development is part of a trend that has seen pro-parental rights trustees, teachers, and members of the public reporting they were silenced at school board meetings.

Darrell Furgason served as a trustee with the Chilliwack School District from 2018 to 2022, and continues to attend most board meetings as a member of the public since losing his re-election bid.

Mr. Furgason says that when he spoke at a public meeting in October 2023 and again on Feb. 13 this year, school board chair Willow Reichelt repeatedly muted his microphone, a move he believes was arbitrary and unwarranted. And now he plans to sue.

“There’s chunks of it missing on that video—her statements, my statements—and I do believe that’s a violation of their role as elected officials to just mute themselves when they don’t feel happy,” he said.

“They’ve done it twice to me and you'd think Willow [Reichelt] would learn? No, they don’t learn, so I decided I’m going to launch a lawsuit against the board and I’ve got video evidence. I’m going after them. There’s only one thing they’ll listen to and that’s the law.”

In October 2023, a lawsuit was launched by Lynda di Armani, a grandmother and former education assistant who says she was unable to comment without being censored during public meetings. She told The Epoch Times that since initiating her lawsuit, she has been given more opportunity to speak than before but still gets muted, with the chair saying she strays off-topic.

“You’re only allowed to talk about things that are on the agenda and they make really strict rules, so they used to cut me off all the time,“ she said. ”And they’ve shut down meetings. They will shut down a meeting for five minutes if they don’t like what you’re saying. This board is very left-wing

https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/chilliwack-bc-school-board-facing-more-legal-action-for-allegedly-censoring-public-5593359

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