BC human rights tribunal says it will take on claims of online hate speech
The decision is part of an ongoing human rights complaint between the British Columbia Teachers' Federation and Barry Neufeld, a former Chilliwack school board trustee.
British Columbia’s Human Rights Tribunal has ruled that it can hear cases regarding allegations of online hate speech.
The tribunal states that provincial human rights laws addressing publications that promote discrimination or hatred are governed by provincial authority, rather than by federal jurisdiction over telecommunications.
The decision is part of an ongoing human rights complaint between the BC Teachers' Federation and Barry Neufeld, a former Chilliwack school board trustee.
Starting in 2017, Neufeld made online posts objecting to the province’s new sex-ed curriculum.
Neufeld had made headlines over concerns regarding BC's sexual orientation curriculum SOGI 123, as well as radical gender ideology being taught in schools.
Chilliwack BC’s, Barry Neufeld, was one of the 1st to sound the alarm about western Canada’s radical gender ideology curriculum, SOGI 1-2-3. Just interviewed him and 2 other likeminded School Trustee candidates for the 2022 election Full report coming soonhttps://t.co/bexhXcjW2Y pic.twitter.com/77pWU2yKlH
— Drea Humphrey - Prepping and Politics (@DreaHumphrey) October 4, 2022
Neufeld’s comments were framed as being bigoted and transphobic by the media, though he would gain support from like-minded parents and community members. Despite his troubles with the board, he held office as an elected trustee until October 2022.
The tribunal's ruling indicates that the validity of the claims regarding Neufeld’s online publications will be determined when the hearing continues in the fall.
BC Human rights commissioner Kasari Govender framed the decision as a positive one, saying: "The tribunal’s decision means that discriminatory or hateful speech will not be immune from provincial human rights laws just because it was published online."
"The B.C. Human Rights Code will continue to offer protection to people in this modern context."
- By David Menzies
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