Chilliwack school trustee Barry Neufeld has once again made a hateful statement, this time using an ableist slur against journalists on a public social media comment.
https://www.citynews1130.com/…/neufeld-under-fire…/…
This absolutely needs to be called out. It is completely unacceptable, just like his previous hateful comments.
There are nearly 2000 students who have a disability designation in the Chilliwack school district, and many more students who are likely waiting for designation and/or assessment. This language impacts them. It harms them, and disabled students around the province. The language he has used in the past has harmed transgender students, and other LGBTQ2S+ students.
The Minister of Education has called for his resignation in the past, and we hope that he will speak out again on this issue in the strongest of terms.
UPDATE: Please see Minister Fleming’s Twitter statement:
BCEdAccess is at it’s core an organization that exists to uphold the human rights of disabled students, and it is foundational to our organization that we also uphold the rights of ALL other protected characteristics under the BC Human Rights Code.
http://www.bchrt.bc.ca/human-rights…/characteristics.htm
We need stronger legislation that will allow the government to act when trustees make a school district unsafe for students. In addition to speaking out about this language, we are asking the government to look into an amendment to the School Act that allows the government to take action when a single trustee violates human rights.
SECOND UPDATE:
Chilliwack teachers have suggested sharing positive stories of inclusion using the hashtag #ThisIsMyChilliwack – what a great idea to show the caring and inclusive stories of the city!