Vernon school trustees walk out of the Dec. 13, 2023, school board meeting when confronted by anti-SOGI protestors.

Image Credit: YOUTUBE

Abbotsford school board meetings are open the public again after being moved online in response to hundreds of anti-SOGI protesters.

But the Vernon school board chair – the only other school district in BC to ban public attendance at meetings – has no idea when or how he will decide to open the doors again, even though a no trespass order has been issued to the woman who disrupted its Dec. 13 board meeting.

“They surrounded the building and started pounding on the glass windows,” Abbotsford board chair Korky Neufeld told iNFOnews.ca. “We couldn’t speak inside the room. They had loud speakers and everything. It was a disruption. We did try to carry on but it got too loud and disruptive. We felt this was not going to happen.”

That Sept. 26, 2023 meeting in Abbotsford was cancelled and the next two were held online. Members of the public were allowed back in for the December and January meetings and, so far, those have gone smoothly.

“We had some of our people go and talk to the protesters, find out what their plans are,” Neufeld said. “We wanted to make it clear that, when things are legislated by the government, when things pertain to the Human Rights Code, when things pertain to the BC Teachers Federation collective agreement, schools are bound by those things. It belongs at the provincial table with the Ministry of Education."

Ironically, Neufeld was elected in 2018 on what media referred to as an anti-SOGI platform. He topped the polls.

“I ran on parents’ rights, every time I ran,” Neufeld told iNFOnews.ca. “I’m not anti-SOGI in the sense I believe the acknowledgement and protection of each and every child is absolutely important. But I also believe that minors, parents and guardians need to be clearly communicated with on what’s happening in the classroom and if we don’t have anything to hide, why wouldn’t we communicate with parents on every level?”

He said this will likely become an issue in next fall’s provincial election, which is where he feels it belongs.

“I think parents and guardians just want to have a conversation about this instead of the government legislating things about their children,” Neufeld said. “I think that’s the issue for parents. I think that’s where they’re upset. It’s that this was legislated rather than having a discussion because it’s public education.”

The Vernon school board shut down its Dec. 13 meeting in the face of a protest that started just after elementary school students performed a Christmas song for the board.

READ MORE: IN VIDEO: Vernon school board meeting disrupted and shut down by protesters

“As they were leaving, the person approached the podium and started talking and the kids were still there,” Vernon board chair Mark Olsen told iNFOnews.ca. “I was trying to get it under order. She did not identify herself, which is part of our requirement. She just started talking and would not come to order so we had to recess the meeting.”

The woman went on a 10-minute rant, turning to speak to her audience of supporters after trustees and staff left the room, and despite lights being turned out and music being played. Police were called.

The next Vernon school board meeting in January was held over Zoom.

So, what’s it going to take to feel safe enough to open the doors to the public again?

“Good question,” was Olsen’s response. “I don’t have that answer. When we feel it’s not going to be confrontational.”

READ MORE: Protests over sex, gender not new in Okanagan but tone radically different

The Vernon school district, through the RCMP, did issue a no trespass order on Jan. 15 to Tori Olason, the woman who disrupted the Dec. 13 meeting. That is in effect until July 31.

Last spring, Jewlie Milligan, who had run unsuccessfully in 2012 for a seat on the board under the Christian ParentsVoice banner, was issued a no-trespass order by the Vernon school district. That expired in July last year.

“The School Act allows us to control the meetings or to eliminate people if we have to,” Olsen said. “We don’t want to do that. We want to have it where people are welcome but I don’t want to see staff and trustees being abused – shouted at and called names. That’s not helping anything.

“It's my job to make sure they are all protected and feel comfortable. We’ve heard for a while now that people are not feeling safe coming in to these meetings so how do we do that? I’m not sure we have that answer yet. We’re working on it.”

Both boards, as with many if not all in BC, have open question periods that are restricted to topics that are on the agenda, which SOGI was not.

Along with the protest outside the Abbotsford board office, there have been speakers at the microphone at past meetings who were off topic.

“I’ve had to, and former chairs have had to, cut off people and say this is something that you can send a letter to the district about or to the board about but this was not on the agenda and we’re not prepared at this time to have this discussion,” Neufeld said.

Olsen had another Vernon meeting disrupted earlier this year in a similar manner where he had to call a recess, although the meeting was able to resume.

“It was the same thing,” Olsen said. “A person got up and was giving a speech quoting laws. I said: ‘Please come to order. We don’t know what you’re talking about and it’s not on the agenda.’”

The provincial government has banned anti-abortion protests within 10 to 160 metres of facilities or doctors' homes.

During COVID, the province also established 20-metre access zones around hospitals, test and vaccination centres and public schools to prevent protests and interference.

Neither board chair was in favour of similar actions in response to the anti-SOGI protests.

“That was access to health,” Olsen said. “I don’t think we’re at that stage here. We’re not interfering with education.”

Neufeld agreed saying he doesn't want to go that way because it's public education.

“The public has the right – as long as they are peaceful – I have no trouble with them protesting. Neither does the board nor the district. It’s when a couple of people get out of hand so we cannot conduct our business. So that’s the issue. That’s the conversation we had with them and so far they have complied.”

The BC Minister of Education Rachna Singh has yet to agree to an interview with iNFOnews.ca.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Rob Munro or call 250-808-0143 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here.

News from © iNFOnews, 2024