Moira Baxter, Chair of School District 23 Board of Education

Image Credit: Submitted/School District 23

School trustees throughout B.C. have been inundated by messages from constituents who are anti-mask, COVID-deniers and/or anti-vaccination.

Earlier this month, a 31-page letter submitted to the Central Okanagan Board of Education falsely suggested they could face criminal charges, even some charges under international laws, if they make vaccines mandatory for school staff.

“I ran my finger down every page,” board chair Moira Baxter told iNFOnews.ca. “I realized a lot of it was information we had received before. We receive it (similar material) with what I can only describe right now as monotonous regularity. You get it day in and day out.”

Stephanie Higginson, president of the B.C. School Trustees Association, confirmed to iNFOnews.ca that this, or similar, material is sent to school trustees on a regular basis.

“There’s lots of examples of anti-vaccine folks entering schools, having demonstrations, entering school district offices, serving liability notices,” she said. “There’s all kinds of weird stuff going on.”

READ MORE: North Okanagan elementary schools targeted with anti-mask graffiti

But the extent of the outright harassment that Baxter had to endure on Remembrance Day is unprecedented in B.C., she said.

“The level of that Remembrance Day incident is probably the most aggressive that we’ve seen,” Higginson said. “There are examples of being threatened with lawsuits and being threatened with some kind of criminal court, crimes against humanity. I haven’t heard of a lot of examples of personal safety threats.”

On Remembrance Day, Baxter was getting ready to leave her home, first to lay a memorial wreath in Peachland as a Board of Education representative, then to visit her father in Kelowna General Hospital who was very ill and died four days later.

A woman, who had spoken at the Board of Education meeting the evening before, called Baxter, who explained her situation and asked that the woman call back in the evening.

“For one hour, she sent me these emails then started leaving messages,” Baxter said, noting there were more than 100 emails. “She left me 15 messages on the telephone saying ‘I am going to tell everyone you are an elected person and you refuse talk to people because you are too busy preparing for your day.’”

The woman then started sending emails to school superintendent Kevin Kaardal. Baxter had already told him her story so he emailed the woman back saying he would call the RCMP if she sent one more email.

Most of the anti-vaccine messages come via email. Baxter no longer answers her phone but has messages recorded on voicemail.

“We’re being harassed,” she said. “I haven’t heard from that person but that’s the sort of thing we get. When I said my dad’s very ill, I can’t talk to you, she just kept saying ‘I know old people who are really ill.’ It was disgusting. Just disgusting.”

READ MORE: Zones protecting schools, hospitals from COVID vaccine protestors coming to B.C.

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