Chilliwack, B.C., school trustee Laurie Throness resigns over free speech ‘chill’
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Monthly Digital Subscription
$1 per week for 24 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Billed as $4.00 plus GST every four weeks. After 24 weeks, price increases to the regular rate of $19.95 plus GST every four weeks. Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
Monthly Digital Subscription
$4.99/week*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Billed as $19.95 plus GST every four weeks. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
*Your next subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $16.99 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $23.99 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
CHILLIWACK – A school trustee in Chilliwack, B.C., has resigned his position, saying he “no longer feels safe in expressing” himself after the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal’s decision to fine former trustee Barry Neufeld $750,000.
Laurie Throness says in a statement that he can’t do his job or speak his mind freely without “worrying about accusations of workplace discrimination,” after the tribunal found Neufeld violated the human rights code by publishing hate speech against LGBTQ+ people.
He says the tribunal’s decision will place a “chill on public discourse.”
He adds that he felt he couldn’t call for the suspension of sexual orientation and gender identity education in his capacity as a trustee after the mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge where eight people were killed.
Throness, who’s also a former member of the B.C. legislature, says school trustees across the province will no longer comment on “sensitive topics” including gender or inclusivity because of the “legal ordeal” that Neufeld went through.
Chilliwack board of education chair David Swankey says Throness was a valuable voice that advocated for academic excellence and the seat left vacant will be open until the next municipal election in October.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 27, 2026.