School trustee's defamation suit over controversial SOGI 123 views tossed
Credit to Author: Stephanie Ip| Date: Wed, 27 Nov 2019 23:07:50 +0000
A Chilliwack school trustee who sued the former president of the B.C. Teachers’ Federation for defamation has had his case thrown out.
Former BCTF president Glen Hansard’s application to have trustee Barry Neufeld’s defamation suit tossed is believed to be the first successful case under B.C.’s newly enacted Protection of Public Participation Act, which came into force earlier this year.
The act – also known as anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits against Public Participation) legislation – aims to screen out lawsuits seeking to “silence or punish a person’s or company’s critics.”
“The PPPA seeks to balance the rights of individuals to protect their reputations against the obvious benefit to a democratic society of protecting free speech and rigorous debate on issues of public interest,” read the decision posted this week.
In October 2017, Neufeld, while serving as school trustee, made controversial comments on his Facebook page about the B.C. Ministry of Education’s SOGI 123 program.
“At the risk of being labeled a bigoted homophobe, I have to say that I support traditional family values and I agree with the College of paediatricians that allowing little children choose to change gender is nothing short of child abuse,” read part of his post.
Neufeld’s comments prompted swift criticism, including from Hansman, who is gay.
“He should step down or be removed,” Hansman had told Postmedia at the time. “It’s not OK. The public school system in this province and in Canada have the obligation to ensure safe and inclusive school environments for all kids regardless of race, nationality, or religion.”
Neufeld then launched a defamation suit against Hansman last fall, claiming his reputation had been harmed and seeking to clear his name. In response, Hansman filed a suit under the PPPA, arguing Neufeld should have expected public criticism on a public matter.
Justice Alan Ross said his decision “had nothing to do with the ‘correctness’ of either party’s position” on SOGI 123, but found that the value in public debate outweighed the harm Neufeld claimed Hansman’s comments had caused.