Tag Archives: Jim McMurtry

Elected School Trustee Prevented from Doing His Job By Board Censors: The tyranny of the bureaucracy and the weaponization of codes of conduct

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The tyranny of the bureaucracy and the weaponization of codes of conduct

Mike Ramsay is another victim of the weaponization of disciplinary hearings against those accused of heresy Author of the article: Michael Higgins Published Aug 28, 2023  •  Last updated Aug 28, 2023  •  5 minute read 456 Comments

Mike Ramsay
Mike Ramsay

Nineteen months ago, Mike Ramsay — a school trustee and former police officer who also happens to be Black — was in a board meeting when he came to the defence of a teacher he had never met. 

The cost to him so far: being called a white supremacist; being shunned; being censured by his school board; being banned from meetings; enduring a lengthy court battle; and, last month, facing the threat of another disciplinary hearing. 

Ramsay is another victim of the weaponization of disciplinary hearings against those accused of heresy, of not toeing the party line on gender identity or racial politics, or for simply objecting to what is being taught to children in schools. Or for tweeting something some people find objectionable. 

The most high-profile victim of the tyranny of the bureaucracy is Jordan Peterson, who recently lost a court battle against the College of Psychologists of Ontario. Peterson has been ordered by the college to undergo “coaching” for some tweets that the college found to be unbecoming a psychologist. 

Incredibly, in Peterson’s case, he hasn’t been found guilty of anything, there’s been no disciplinary hearing, it is simply punishment by fiat. 

This weaponization of codes of conduct is happening across Canada and is felt by many people who do not enjoy Peterson’s high profile.

Nurse Amy Hamm is facing disciplinary action for believing in biology and liking a “I (heart) J.K. Rowling” billboard. 

Chanel Pfahl, then a teacher in Barrie, Ont., faced action because of a Facebook post that opposed indoctrinating children with critical race theory.

Jim McMurtry, a teacher of 40 years with a master’s degree in the history of education, was fired by the Abbotsford School District for pointing out that most children in Indian residential schools died from tuberculosis and other diseases.

For Mike Ramsay, his troubles came out of the blue during a meeting of Ontario’s Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB) in January 2022. 

Carolyn Burjoski, an English teacher with 20 years’ experience, was giving a presentation regarding her concerns about some of the reading material in elementary school libraries. Some books were being culled — like Dr. Seuss — while new books on diversity were being added.

She highlighted two new books, “Rick” by Alex Gina, where a young boy is encouraged to question his sexuality and eventually declares he is asexual, and “The Other Boy” by M.G. Hennessy, where a female teen later identifies as a boy. 

“Some of the books make it seem simple, even cool, to take puberty blockers and opposite sex hormones,” she told the board. But elementary students are just children. “Let them grow up in their own time and stop pressuring them to be sexual so soon,” she said.

She was eventually shut down by then-chairmen Scott Piatkowski over concerns she was breaching Ontario’s human rights code. Ramsay tried to defend Burjoski and wanted her presentation to continue but was overruled by a 5-4 vote. 

A month later, Ramsay faced a code of conduct complaint. The actual complaint and the WRDSB’s actions would have remained secret because of a confidentiality clause, but once Ramsay launched a legal action the documents became public. 

What was he accused of? “He disagrees with actions being taken by the WRDSB,” according to the complaint, and was not upholding decisions made by the board.  

His Twitter account was scoured. He was accused of retweeting a newspaper article, written by a colleague, that was critical of the board. He retweeted someone who called the WRDSB a “farce,” and in another tweet indicated that he agreed with a comment about the “woke war on critics.” He was guilty, according to the complaint, of tweeting or retweeting comments that “amplify harm” and “sow doubt.” 

He was accused of signing a petition that urged Ontario’s educational authorities to keep woke politics and policies out of schools. He didn’t write the petition, he just signed it, and for that has faced persecution. 

“Their interpretation of what constitutes a breach (of the code of conduct) in my mind is anything they don’t like that I’m saying. That’s the only criteria I think they’re using,” Ramsay said in an interview. 

“The primary focus nowadays right across our province, and in fact across our country, is to be teaching kids that one group based on their colour are the oppressors; and one group based on their racial background or colour are the oppressed. I don’t agree with that. I don’t believe that is a way forward and it runs contrary to the dream espoused by Martin Luther King. We have a group on the radical left who want to fight battles that have already been won.”

In July 2022, he was informed that he had breached of the board’s code of conduct by refusing to accept the decisions of the chair and the board, by accusing fellow trustees of unlawful conduct and by disclosing confidential information. He was censured and banned from meetings until September. He has launched a judicial review of that finding and is awaiting a decision.

Ramsay has been elected nine times as a trustee and has served continually since 2000. His aim is to “bring the parent voice to the board table, to bring the concerns of parents.” The code of conduct, he said, “is being used as a weapon to shut down dissenting voices. (And) that’s right across Canada. It’s part of this identity politics that in my mind is pretty dangerous.” 

“There is a severe cost” to fighting, Ramsay said. “You get shunned. You know how ridiculous it got? I’m Black, but I was called a white supremacist.” 

Ramsay said he was often reminded of the words of a Crown prosecutor: if you knew what something was going to cost in advance, maybe you would negotiate the price. 

Ramsay has an outlook on some matters that is now considered old fashioned and subject not just to ridicule, but to disciplinary action: he believes in a democratic society where people should be able to voice dissenting opinions; he believes children should be taught about history — the good and the bad; and he believes parents should have a voice at school board meetings. 

While being shunned by some, he has also had many people approach him offering support. Last year, as his troubles began, a stranger reached out offering kindness and compassion.

That stranger was Richard Bilkszto, a principal with the Toronto District School Board who was facing his own ordeal. Bilkszto had opposed some racial teachings during a diversity, equity and inclusion training session and ended up being bullied and facing an insinuation that he was a white supremacist, according to a lawsuit.

Bilkszto said, “I have an idea what you’re going through. You have my support,” according to Ramsay. The pair established a telephone and online relationship and in May, Ramsay and Bilkszto met for lunch. It was their first and last meeting. Last month, Richard Bilkszto killed himself.

Sometimes there’s a cost to fighting.

CAFE PROTEST TO ABBOTSFORD SCHOOL DISTRICT ON THE FIRING OF TEACHER JIM MCMURTRY FOR CHALLENGING KAMLOOPS RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL GENOCIDE STORY

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Canadian Association for Free Expression

Box 332,

Rexdale, Ontario,

M9W 5L3

Ph: 416-428-5308

Website http://cafe.nfshost.com

Paul Fromm, B.Ed, M.A. Director

March 1, 2023

Mr. Kevin Godden, Superintendent of Schools,

Abbotsford School District
2790 Tims Street,

 Abbotsford, BC  

V2T 4M7

Dear Mr. Godden:

            I ask that you bring this correspondence to the next meeting of the Abbotsford District School Board

            We are appalled at the Board’s February 21 decision to fire teacher Jim McMurtry. His “crime’? Back in 2021 when the media was filled with exaggerated stories of a mass grave found outside the former Kamloops Indian Residential School. One of Mr. McMurtry’s grade 12 students alleged that Catholic priests had tortured and killed Indian children and left them to freeze in the snow. Firstly, there is no evidence with melodramatic scenario ever occurred. Indeed, close to two years later, there is actually no evidence that the alleged 218 “graves” are indeed graves. If they are graves, there’s no evidence who is buried there and what caused these people’s deaths.

            As a good and responsible teacher, Mr. McMurtry gently corrected the enthusiastic student’s comment, which echoes longtime anti-Catholic bias that was once rife. Mr. McMurtry stated that most children who died in residential schools died from disease, which was true not just of native children at that time, but children in general.

            Dr. McMurtry has extensive experience and education in Native issues. His comment is not merely his opinion, it is the conclusion of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. According to graph 6 of the report, The overwhelming cause of the deaths of Native children in residential schools (1867 to 2000) was tuberculosis, followed by a long distance by influenza and respiratory diseases.

            It’s often forgotten that tuberculosis was a major blight in Canada up into the 1950s. In my own family alone, two relatives spent time in sanitoria to recover from tuberculosis, or TB in common terms.

            So, Dr. McMurtry’s offence was to tell the truth!

            As unjust as your decision was for Dr. McMurtry, it perpetrated an even greater injustice on the student body. What does it teach students? Certainly, not to think for themselves and follow the evidence, sometimes even challenging currently accepted ideology. No, it teaches them that, if they dissent from currently fashionable Woke doctrine, they’d better shut up and keep their views to themselves. Remember what happened to Dr. McMurtry!

            The students deserve better. The taxpayers deserve better.

            We urge you to reconsider your decision.

                                                            Sincerely yours,

                                                            Paul Fromm, Director

CAFE PROTEST TO ABBOTSFORD SCHOOL DISTRICT ON THE FIRING OF TEACHER JIM MCMURTRY FOR CHALLENGING KAMLOOPS RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL GENOCIDE STORY

Canadian Association for Free Expression

Box 332,

Rexdale, Ontario,

M9W 5L3

Ph: 416-428-5308

Website http://cafe.nfshost.com

Paul Fromm, B.Ed, M.A. Director

March 1, 2023

Mr. Kevin Godden, Superintendent of Schools,

Abbotsford School District
2790 Tims Street,

 Abbotsford, BC  

V2T 4M7

Dear Mr. Godden:

            I ask that you bring this correspondence to the next meeting of the Abbotsford District School Board

            We are appalled at the Board’s February 21 decision to fire teacher Jim McMurtry. His “crime’? Back in 2021 when the media was filled with exaggerated stories of a mass grave found outside the former Kamloops Indian Residential School. One of Mr. McMurtry’s grade 12 students alleged that Catholic priests had tortured and killed Indian children and left them to freeze in the snow. Firstly, there is no evidence with melodramatic scenario ever occurred. Indeed, close to two years later, there is actually no evidence that the alleged 218 “graves” are indeed graves. If they are graves, there’s no evidence who is buried there and what caused these people’s deaths.

            As a good and responsible teacher, Mr. McMurtry gently corrected the enthusiastic student’s comment, which echoes longtime anti-Catholic bias that was once rife. Mr. McMurtry stated that most children who died in residential schools died from disease, which was true not just of native children at that time, but children in general.

            Dr. McMurtry has extensive experience and education in Native issues. His comment is not merely his opinion, it is the conclusion of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. According to graph 6 of the report, The overwhelming cause of the deaths of Native children in residential schools (1867 to 2000) was tuberculosis, followed by a long distance by influenza and respiratory diseases.

            It’s often forgotten that tuberculosis was a major blight in Canada up into the 1950s. In my own family alone, two relatives spent time in sanitoria to recover from tuberculosis, or TB in common terms.

            So, Dr. McMurtry’s offence was to tell the truth!

            As unjust as your decision was for Dr. McMurtry, it perpetrated an even greater injustice on the student body. What does it teach students? Certainly, not to think for themselves and follow the evidence, sometimes even challenging currently accepted ideology. No, it teaches them that, if they dissent from currently fashionable Woke doctrine, they’d better shut up and keep their views to themselves. Remember what happened to Dr. McMurtry!

            The students deserve better. The taxpayers deserve better.

            We urge you to reconsider your decision.

                                                            Sincerely yours,

                                                            Paul Fromm, Director

Canadian teacher of 40 years fired for speaking out against Trudeau’s ‘mass grave’ hoax

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Canadian teacher of 40 years fired for speaking out against Trudeau’s ‘mass grave’ hoax

[The Red Guards of wokeness have claimed another victim, Jim McMurtry, who only tried to correct a misinformed student who claimed that Catholic priests had murdered many young Indians in residential school. He quoted the report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that tubereculosis was the major killer, there in in the greater society until the 1950s. For this and because he refused to be silenced, this brilliant and educated man was fired. I sympathize. After a 25 year career as an “exemplary teacher”, I too was fired in 1997 by the Peel Board of Education, not for anything I said or did in the classroom but for my political views expressed on my own time, outside school property. — Paul Fromm]

According to his employer, since school teacher Jim McMurtry would not forego his ‘democratic right’ or be ‘muzzled’ he of course must be fired. Featured ImageKamloops Residential SchoolChris Allan/Shutterstock

Kennedy
Hall

Wed Feb 22, 2023 – 3:58 pm EST Listen to this article 0:00 / 4:59 BeyondWords

ABBOTSFORD, B.C. (LifeSiteNews) — A Canadian teacher who taught for forty years has been fired for speaking out against the now roundly debunked “mass grave” narrative that Trudeau and the mainstream media peddled in 2021.

According to the National Post, Jim McMurtry was fired on Tuesday, February 21, for daring to speak out against the misinformation about the Canadian residential school history.

In 2021 when the “mass grave” narrative spread across Canada, faster than the dozens of Church burnings that it inspired, McMurtry corrected one of his students in a Grade-12 class who stated that priests had murdered and tortured children and left them to freeze to death in the snow.

He told the student that most children who died in residential schools died from disease, which was true not just of native children at that time, but children in general.

It may seem insane to hear that people were bandying around the notion that priests were essentially serial murderers for decades without ever being stopped, but that is what people thought. — Article continues below Petition — PETITION: Trudeau must apologize for “mass grave” smear that led to church-burnings   Show Petition Text 4946 have signed the petition.Let’s get to 5000! Add your signature: Keep me updated via email on this petition and related issues.

I distinctly remember Canada Day in 2021 – what a dark day that was – and even family members had come to the conclusion that Catholic priests and nuns had ritually murdered children and thrown them into massive pits behind the schools.

Of course, as the Post report pointed out, nothing like this was ever recorded in any official report.

For his efforts, McMurtry was marched out of the school for having committed what might be the only mortal sin left in public education: not peddling a communist narrative.

Ironically, all McMurtry did was repeat information that was recorded in the federal government’s own Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) report. The TCR report is far from a “conservative” or “right-wing” document, and has been sharply criticized for shoddy scholarship and not including the massive amounts of positive claims about residential schools.

Alas, McMurtry’s reference to historical information in a government-approved report that did not include positive information about the residential schools was seen as unacceptable, and he was suspended.

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A year after his initial suspension he refused to remain silent about the injustice and was subsequently fired.

The report that recommended he be axed admitted that his commitment to telling the truth was why he was fired:

Given Mr. McMurtry’s assertions that he will not be ‘muzzled,’ that he has a democratic right to speak, that he will not follow directions, it is clear that Mr. McMurtry’s employment can no longer continue.

So, according to his employer, since McMurtry would not forego his “democratic right” or be “muzzled,” he of course must be fired.

It is worth remembering that we are not speaking about some renegade activist, but a teacher of four decades who simply corrected a student who said something different than the official government information. This affair is nothing more than an employer penalizing a man who is shedding light on the fact that the employer was wrong in the first place.

How have we arrived at the point where a public school teacher is disciplined for telling students information that was made available to the public by a publicly funded government inquiry?

As if the firing wasn’t absurd enough, McMurtry holds a master’s degree in the history of education and a doctorate in the philosophy of education, with a specialty in indigenous history.

The man is literally an accredited expert in education and the history of native Canadians, but was sacked for telling the truth about the history of native Canadians.

Apparently in Canada, any degrees and experience one might have is irrelevant if you don’t move at the speed of woke.

About the affair, McMurtry said:

This woke indoctrination [is] as offensive as any totalitarian ideology that has ever been pushed… There are people who believe that Canada is systemically racist and that all our ancestors were monsters. And I’m the person who is saying, ‘Well, let’s debate it. Let’s look at it.’

He also said that teachers “are walking on eggshells,” and need to speak up before it is too late.

It was reported that he was “terminated for just and reasonable cause,” but it seems that reason went out the window with the actual truth about native Canadian history.