KITCHENER, ON: The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms is pleased to announce that the Waterloo Catholic District School Board (Board) has passed a motion permitting members of the public to record its meetings after receiving a legal warning letter.
On May 26, 2025, the Board debated and voted on a motion to reverse its unconstitutional recording ban, with Trustee Conrad Stanley citing the legal warning letter as a key factor in prompting the discussion. The motion passed.
Constitutional lawyer Hatim Kheir stated, “We are pleased to see that the trustees have come through and made a decision to protect the freedom of expression of the public in the Waterloo Region and foster democratic accountability in the school board.”
The matter began on January 27, 2025, when Kitchener resident and long-time school board observer Jack Fonseca attempted to take a photo before the start of a board meeting.
Security informed him that while he could take one photo, no additional photography or any video or audio recording would be permitted. Mr. Fonseca was later warned that he would be removed if he attempted to record the meeting. This was despite the fact that the Board had no formal policy prohibiting such activities.
Following Mr. Fonseca’s inquiries, Board Chair Bob Sikora confirmed that there was no Board policy banning recordings. Rather, the directive had been implemented solely at the discretion of Director Tyrone Dowling. Nevertheless, the Board updated its website to state that “visitors may not take pictures, audio recordings, or video recordings while on schoolboard property during meetings,” and implemented a policy of requiring photo ID and bag searches at meetings.
On February 24, 2025, a warning letter was sent to the Board that this informal and unauthorized ban on recordings was unconstitutional. That same day, Trustee Conrad Stanley brought a motion to override the Director’s decision and formally permit public recordings during meetings.
