From LifeSiteNews

By Anthony Murdoch

Ontario’s Divisional Court dismissed Carolyn Burjoski’s application for a judicial review of the January 2022 decision by school trustees to kick her off the board, but she will appeal the decision.

A now-retired Canadian teacher who was silenced for voicing concerns over LGBT books in school libraries vowed to continue to fight for her right to free speech after she was muzzled by her board.

Last year, longtime Waterloo Regional District School Board (WRDSB) teacher Carolyn Burjoski was stopped mid-presentation by then-board chairman Scott Piatkowski at a Board of Trustees meeting on January 17, 2022, because she was criticizing LGBT books in school libraries.

Piatkowski went as far as to expel Burjoski from the meeting. The next day she was made to work from home and told to keep her mouth shut under the threat of losing her retirement benefits. Piatkowski then told legacy media that Burjoski was “transphobic” and was using “hate speech” in the board meeting. Of note is that Piatkowski is a longtime supporter of the socialist NDP party.

Burjoski’s fight for justice began after she was removed from the board meeting because she exposed the dangers of LGBT books in school libraries. According to court documents, during her presentation, Burjoski revealed that some of the books made it “seem simple or even cool to take puberty blockers and opposite sex hormones.”

“I was ejected from a Board of Trustees meeting for criticizing the age appropriateness of sexual content in children’s books in elementary school libraries,” she said.

In May 2022, Burjoski filed a $1.7 million defamation suit against the WRDSB and Piatkowski that remains before the courts.

In June 2022, Burjoski applied for a judicial review of Piatkowski’s decision to suddenly stop her presentation, claiming it violated Ontario’s Human Rights code.

On November 29, three judges with Ontario’s Divisional Court dismissed Burjoski’s application for a judicial review of the January 2022 decision by her trustees to kick her off the board.

School board showed ‘display of authoritarian speech suppression in a public forum,’ says canceled teacher

Burjoski, in an update to social media last Thursday, said she would fight the dismissal of the judicial review with an appeal.

“I was silenced and removed for voicing my concerns about age-inappropriate content in some elementary school books. My respectful presentation was cut short by the chair who wrongly accused me of violating the Human Rights Code,” Burjoski said.

“This was not just a violation of my right to free expression, but a stark display of authoritarian speech suppression in a public forum where diverse viewpoints should be welcomed and discussed.”

Burjoski said that her judicial review being dismissed “is deeply concerning” and could set a “troubling precedent for free expression in Canada, empowering school boards and other public bodies to silence and censure every voice they disagree with.”

“So today, I am escalating this matter to the Ontario Court of Appeal by filing a notice of motion for leave to appeal. This is not just about a school board meeting. It’s about the integrity of open dialog on important issues in our educational system and other public forums.”

Burjoski noted how a true democracy “thrives on diverse opinions and the freedom to express them.”

“It’s vital that our judicial system protect our charter rights against administrative overreach that stifles our free speech,” she noted.

“I am fully committed to this cause and am deeply grateful to the Justice Center for Constitutional Freedoms for sponsoring this appeal pro bono.”

She encouraged “everyone” to support JCCF financially in its “relentless work to safeguard Canadian freedoms.”

Burjoski suffered a breakdown from the entire ordeal, which was so bad that she had to be taken to the hospital by ambulance. She said she is “still in recovery from this trauma.”

She has documented her ordeal on her website cancelledteacher.com.

Yesterday, LifeSiteNews reported that the WRDSB recently decided to get rid of the word “parent” on a slew of official documents and replace it with “caregiver” or “family.” Not all WRDSB members were on board with the change, however.