A former Canadian school board director who is an outspoken Christian could be fined nearly $1 million for expressing his belief on social media that there are only two genders: male and female.
In mid-February, the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal ordered former Chilliwack School Board director Barry Neufeld to pay $750,000 for allegedly discriminating against LGBT-identified teachers in the Chilliwack school district.
The court decided that the large fine would be used to compensate employees who identify as LGBT and whose “dignity, feelings and self-respect were harmed” by Neufeld’s comments.
The number of LGBT-identified employees from 2017 to 2022 ranges from 45 to 163, and the court estimates each affected employee will receive between $4,601.23 and $16,666.67 from the fines levied against Neufeld.
The former trustee, who is currently appealing the court’s decision, was ordered to pay $442 to an anonymous plaintiff identified as “Teacher C” to compensate for lost wages for attending a hearing regarding Mr. Neufeld’s personal opinion.
It all goes back to October 2017, when Neufeld posted on his Facebook page that the district’s Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) program was not rooted in biology but in “social constructs.”
“At the risk of being labeled a bigot and homophobe, I must say that I support traditional family values and agree with the (American) Academy of Pediatrics that allowing young children the choice to change their gender is child abuse,” he wrote. “But now the (British Columbia) Ministry of Education is supporting the LGBTQ lobby and forcing this biologically absurd theory on children in schools. Children are being taught that heterosexual marriage is no longer the norm. Teachers are just students and should not be referred to as ‘boys and girls.'”
In additional social media posts, Neufeld wrote about the tension between being sympathetic while not compromising his firm belief that there are only two genders, as Genesis 1:27 says, “Therefore God created man in his own image, male and female in the image of God” (NLT).
Neufeld explained that he felt called to “inspire lukewarm Christians who sit idle while society as a whole ‘bent over to Gomorrah,'” adding that promoting transgender ideology “demonizes people of faith who believe that God created humans male and female.”
The Rights and Freedom Fundraising Association is raising money for Neufeld’s legal appeal.
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