Chilliwack school board interrupts Lynda di Armani and mutes her microphone
Lynda di Armani is a mother and grandmother living in Chilliwack, British Columbia, for the past 16 years. She worked as an educational assistant with special needs students from 2007 to 2017.
On June 13, 2023, Ms. di Armani attended a meeting of the Chilliwack Board of School Trustees to express her concerns about a potential conflict of interest at the board. It had come to light that the board member who had been promoting Pride events at school was also the marketing director for a local Pride society. The board member had brought forward a motion that the Board should support Pride Month and should raise the Pride flag on school campuses.
Chair Willow Reichelt and Vice-Chair Carin Bondar quickly interrupted her presentation, claiming that her remarks were “discriminatory” and that “[t]here is no conflict of interest when you’re talking about basic human rights.”
After being interrupted four times, Ms. di Armani tried to continue her presentation, speaking to her own feelings about the place of Pride symbols in public schools. Chair Reichelt had invited her to do just that.
All at once, however, Chair Reichelt said, “You can sit down now please.” The video recording goes silent; audio disappears for the next 24 seconds of the meeting. Chair Reichelt muted all microphones, or the audio was deleted post-production.
A full-length video the meeting is available here. (See 24:02 to 26:56)
The message was clear: if we dislike your expression, we will silence you. We will strike your voice from the public record.
But Canadian courts have been equally clear: school boards are government bodies. They are subject to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and section 2(b) of the Charter protects the freedom of thought, belief, opinion, and expression of all Canadians.
Lynda di Armani files constitutional challenge against Chilliwack school board
On October 6, 2023, our lawyers helped Ms. di Armani file a constitutional challenge against the Chilliwack Board of School Trustees. In the lawsuit, Ms. di Armani draws the court’s attention to the Chair and Vice-Chair repeatedly interrupting her and muting her microphone. She believes this is a violation of her freedom of speech – protected by section 2(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Ms. di Armani is also objecting to the Board’s policy of prohibiting members of the public from recording public meetings themselves. As she entered the meeting on June 13, she was required to sign an undertaking stating that she would not record anything. After the board chose to mute all microphones or delete the audio post-production, Ms. di Armani argues that the Board violated the right of people to hear, listen to, and consider alternative perspectives.
While the Chair was authorized to interrupt speakers who did not comply with their bylaws, the Chair was not allowed to silence people simply because she disagreed with the content of their speech.
Ms. di Armani is asking the Court to declare that the school board violated her Charter rights. She is seeking a Court order that would allow the public to record school board meetings themselves and that would prevent school board censorship in the future.
“Elected officials exercising government power must respect Canadians’ Charter freedoms,” states Marty Moore, counsel for Ms. di Armani. “The Chilliwack School Board’s actions in this case show complete disregard for the freedom of expression, not only of my client, but also of the listening public, who have a right to hear the views of others at Board meetings. Unfortunately, this kind of censorship is a regular occurrence at Chilliwack School Board meetings. We are Court orders to put an end to these violations of Charter rights and freedoms.”
What’s next for Lynda di Armani?
On July 11, 2024, our lawyers filed their amended pleadings at the Supreme Court of British Columbia. The case will now advance to a hearing.
The di Armani hearing at the BC Supreme Court is put over until 2025
On December 6, 2024, lawyers for Ms. di Armani filed a second affidavit on her behalf. Among other things, she notes that while people are no longer required to sign an undertaking that they will not record the meetings, signs still warn that such recordings are not allowed.
Her legal team filed their written argument on December 9, 2024.
On December 13, 2024, as they were preparing for trial, lawyers for Ms. di Armani were informed the hearing has been put over until 2025 at the request of the School Board.
