Published Nov 27, 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n 324 Comments<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Alberta-based Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms<\/a> has filed a legal challenge over what it alleges was a Waterloo Region District School Board\u2019s decision to mandate the reading of land acknowledgements at school council meetings, while prohibiting debate on the issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The application has been brought on behalf of Geoffrey Horsman<\/a>, a biochemistry professor and member of the Kitchener-Waterloo Collegiate and Vocational School Council as the father of three children attending district schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Horsman\u2019s concerns began, says the JCCF, when the council started opening its meetings with land acknowledgements despite the fact that no vote or debate had ever been held on the practice. In the spring of 2025, he sought to have the matter placed on the agenda for discussion. However, the council chair declined and referred him to the school principal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n On May 9, says JCCF, the principal informed Horsman that the board requires land acknowledgements at all school council meetings and that the topic could not be debated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The judicial review challenges the Board\u2019s conduct on three grounds:<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The dispute follows a related instance that arose in September, when another parent, Cristina Bairos Fernandes, raised an objection to opening parent involvement committee meetings with a land acknowledgement, reports Juno News<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Article content<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The chair of the committee agreed to \u201cnote\u201d her objection but Scott Miller, the board\u2019s director of education,<\/a> intervened stating that: \u201cI think we\u2019ve been pretty clear as a district school board what we believe, our commitment to Truth and Reconciliation, call to action. And that\u2019s across the province.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The committee ultimately voted to record the objection, but exclude mention of the director\u2019s interference. Horseman was one of a few parent-committee members who requested the minutes include the director\u2019s interference \u201crather than (leaving it out) as though it never happened.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n It wasn\u2019t the first time a parent faced roadblocks for objecting to land acknowledgements at parent-run meeting, says the JCCF<\/a>. In April, Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board parent Catherine Kronas raised concerns about imposing political speech in government settings. In response, she was suspended from attending council meetings. However, she was later reinstated following legal intervention from the JCCF<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Constitutional lawyer Hatim Kheir stated that Kronas\u2019 comments \u201cwere a reasonable and measured expression of a viewpoint held by many Canadians.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Further, he said: \u201cThe Board\u2019s decision to suspend her from the Council, which she has a right to sit on as an elected parent member, is an act of censorship that offends the right to freedom of expression.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n In both instances, the parents expressed concern that reciting land acknowledgements is a form of political speech and questioned their appropriateness in government institutions. (National Post<\/strong>, November 27, 2025)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ontario school board facing constitutional challenge over mandated land acknowledgements Plaintiff father says his concerns began after the council started opening meetings with land acknowledgements with no debate or vote Author of the article: By Stewart Lewis Published Nov 27, … Continue reading ![\"school\"\/](\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/nationalpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0819-wd-substitute.wd_298186958.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=288&h=216&sig=EGw-Q5AcFLUbI5vc3-WE_w\")
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