HAMILTON, ON: The Justice Centre announces that the matter of Ms. Carolyn Burjoski, a former elementary school teacher who was expelled from a Waterloo Region District School board meeting after she objected to Board decisions to ban library books deemed “harmful,” and include books on sexuality as part of the curriculum for all elementary students, will be heard in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, London divisional court on June 5, 2023. Ms. Burjoski attended the meeting, open to the public, on January 17, 2022, and attempted to make a 10-minute presentation to express her views, emphasizing that the proposed sex-ed materials would sexualize children and downplay the risks of medical sex transition.
Ms. Burjoski’s presentation included a passage from a book called Rick, by Alex Gino, about a young boy whose friend talks about naked girls all the time. The boy decides that there must be something wrong with him because he has no sexual feelings, so he declares his “asexual identity.” The presentation also showed a passage from a book entitled The Other Boy, by M.G. Hennessy, which deals with a girl who identifies as a boy and takes puberty blockers and testosterone as part of a medical sex transition. Ms. Burjoski commented that some of the books “make it seem simple or even cool to take puberty blockers and opposite sex hormones.”
Ms. Burjoski’s presentation was cut off after four minutes by Chairperson Scott Piatkowski, who alleged that it violated the Ontario Human Rights Code. The Board voted to uphold Mr. Piatowski’s decision, and Ms. Burjoski was expelled from the meeting.
The Supreme Court has described the free exchange of ideas as ‘the very lifeblood of democracy’.
Mr. Jorge Pineda, Counsel for Ms. Burjoski, will argue in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice that the decision to muzzle Ms. Burjoski was a violation of her Charter right to freedom of expression.
The virtual hearing will take place on June 5 at 10:00 a.m. ET.
