Originally published in The Christian Post
A former Canadian school board of trustees member who has been fined $750 000 (R11.93 million) over his public comments expressing opposition to the promotion of trans ideology in schools is appealing the decision.
In a decision issued last Wednesday, the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal ordered former Chilliwack Board of Education trustee Barry Neufield to pay $750 000 for purportedly discriminating against trans-identified teachers and staff in the Chilliwack School District by expressing opposition to efforts to push gender confusion, and by expressing on social media his belief in the scientific reality that there are only two sexes.
The tribunal claims the astronomical fine is justified to compensate the LGBT-identified district employees for “injury to their dignity, feelings, and self-respect.”
Since the estimated number of teachers in Chilliwack School District who identified as LGBT from 2017-2022 was between 45 and 163, the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal estimates that each will receive between $4 601.23 (about R73 300 and $16,666.67 (about R265 836).
In addition to requiring him to pay a $750 000 fine, Neufield is barred from engaging in actions that violate provisions of the British Columbia Code of Human Rights that prohibit discriminatory publications, hate speech and discrimination in employment. He also has to pay $442 (R7 048) to an unnamed plaintiff named “Teacher C” to compensate for the former teacher’s lost wages for attending a hearing about Neufield’s refusal to kowtow to trans ideology.
The unidentified “Teacher C” resigned from the school district in 2021, alleging a hostile work environment due to Neufield’s comments and the district’s response.
Neufield’s public opposition toward efforts to push trans ideology and gender confusion in Canadian school curriculum began with an Oct. 23, 2017, Facebook post, where he expressed concern that “[T]he Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) program instructs children that gender is not biologically determined, but is a social construct.”
“At the risk of being labelled a bigoted homophobe, I have to say that I support traditional family values and I agree with the College of paediatricians that allowing little children choose to change gender is nothing short of child abuse,” he added. “But now the BC Ministry of Education has embraced the LGBTQ lobby and is forcing this biologically absurd theory on children in our schools. Children are being taught that heterosexual marriage is no longer the norm. Teachers must not refer to ‘boys and girls’ they are merely students.”
The October 23 2017, Facebook post was one of many that the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal claimed to have violated the British Columbia Human Rights Code’s prohibitions on “discriminatory publications and/or hate speech.” In a separate Facebook post from December 18 2017, Neufield explicitly mentioned how his Christian faith plays a role in his opposition to LGBT ideology.
“It dawned on me that for a Christian, there are two approaches to take. The pastoral approach is one of compassion and empathy while firmly refusing to buy into their client’s delusional thinking. As one pastor said to a transgender person: ‘it is my responsibility to love you: but it is God’s job the [sic] change you’. However, while helping me grasp a better understanding of gender Dysphoria, the [issue] is so complex that it is hard to apply these insights in a debate at the political level, especially on Facebook,” he wrote.
Identifying the “other approach” as “prophetic,” Neufield detailed how “In the Bible, the Old Testament prophets upbraided the Kings and rulers for their wickedness and lack of Justice” while “In the New Testament, the prophetic gifts were used to admonish the WHOLE church and all of society.” Neufield concluded that he had been “thrown into the role of prophet.”
Neufield described his mission as “speaking out to the lawmakers in Victoria and trying to motivate lukewarm Christians who are sitting idly by as all of Society ‘Slouches towards Gomorrah.’”
He warned that the widespread embrace of trans ideology has “demonized people of faith who believe that God created humans male and female: In the Image of God.”
The Rights and Freedoms Fundraising Society is seeking to raise money for Neufield’s legal defense so he can seek judicial review of the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal’s decision.
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