WATERLOO REGION — A retired instructor suing the Waterloo Area District College Board and board chair for alleged defamation says it’s ironic that they’re accusing her of looking to silence them.
Carolyn Burjoski says she used to be “ejected” from a board of trustees assembly on Jan. 17 after elevating questions on “the age-appropriateness of the brand new books entering fundamental college libraries coping with sexuality.”
In a remark of defence, the board and chair Scott Piatkowski allege Burjoski introduced the lawsuit “for the needs of silencing the defendants and chilling the expression of others in the case of issues of public passion — particularly, the fortify of the LGBTQ2S+ neighborhood …”
Burjoski replied to the remark of defence in a video posted to Twitter on Wednesday.
“As I anticipated, the board denies any and all wrongdoing,” the Kitchener lady says.
“What I didn’t be expecting is that of their defence this board, who bring to an end my presentation and ejected me from the trustees assembly, forbade me from talking to my scholars and associates and publicly maligned my affordable feedback as transphobic hate speech, is now pleading sooner than the court docket that I’m looking to suppress their unfastened expression through suing them.”
She provides: “The irony is thick. This board turns out to assume that they may be able to gaslight a complete neighborhood, or even the court docket, into believing the complete opposite of what’s in reality true.”
Within the video remark, Burjoski says she totally helps “the board’s advocacy for the dignity, dignity and human rights of the LGBT+ neighborhood.”
“What I don’t fortify is the board silencing, shaming and punish(ing) any individual who criticizes the age-appropriateness of board insurance policies in line with gender idea,” she says. “If the varsity board has insurance policies and practices with the prospective to hurt youngsters, then folks and academics have a duty to talk up and a proper to be heard.”
The college board and chair declined to touch upon Burjoski’s video remark.
Her lawsuit, introduced in Would possibly, seeks $1.75 million in damages. Not one of the allegations had been confirmed in court docket.
Within the remark of defence, the board and chair deny they defamed her and ask for the lawsuit to be disregarded.
The day after the Jan. 17 board assembly, Burjoski says in her remark of declare, the varsity board modified her standing to “assigned to house.”
“Burjoski used to be directed to not be in contact in any respect with any scholars … or different workers of WRDSB,” she says.
She alleges Piatkowski and the board made “repeated false and defamatory statements” about her to the media that “exacerbated the embarrassment, psychological and emotional misery and struggling and hurt …”
The board and chair “deny they ever engaged in any habits towards the plaintiff that they knew or should have recognized would reason mental or every other hurt to the plaintiff,” in step with the remark of defence.
“The defendants plead that to the level any of the phrases complained of had been defamatory, which isn’t admitted however denied, the plaintiff has suffered no exact harm or injury to her recognition in consequence thereof …”
On the board assembly, Burjoski learn from a e book known as “Rick.”
It “depicts a tender boy whose good friend talks about bare women at all times,” she says. “This younger boy comes to a decision that there will have to be one thing incorrect with him as a result of he has no sexual emotions but so, after attending the varsity’s Rainbow Membership, he proclaims his ‘asexual identification.’ ”
Burjoski mentioned she urged on the assembly that Rick may now not have sexual emotions but as a result of he’s a kid.
Any other e book she addressed, “The Different Boy,” is ready “a woman who identifies as a boy and takes puberty blockers and testosterone as a part of a scientific gender transition,” Burjoski says.
The board and chair say Burjoski known as the e book “deceptive as it does now not take note how (the kid) may really feel later in lifestyles about being infertile.”
In addition they say she mentioned, “This e book makes very severe scientific interventions appear to be a very simple treatment for emotional and social misery.”
The board and chair say Piatkowski stopped Burjoski and expressed issues that her feedback “had been a contravention of the delegation necessities to not contravene the Ontario Human Rights Code.”
“Any other trustee challenged the verdict of Chair Piatkowski to prevent the plaintiff’s delegation. Trustees voted and upheld the verdict of Chair Piatkowski to prevent the plaintiff’s delegation.”
The remark of defence says bylaws require delegates to “chorus from using abusive or derogatory language always.”
The chair “would possibly expel or exclude from any assembly anyone(s) who interact on this or every other type of incorrect habits,” the remark says.
Burjoski used to be an fundamental college instructor with the board. She retired on Jan. 31.
/https://www.therecord.com/content/dam/therecord/uploads/Paul_{66dc31293c2260cb9172669df609ae161dc6e72a8b49d2ae72b9a1fbbc7d2bf4}20Gord_logo2019.JPG){kind=logo}
