BeGhosted

Child protection services called over mother's opposition to school's 'land acknowledgement' A B.C. mother is facing fierce backlash from her daughter's school district after expressing frustration with mandatory land acknowledgements. Constitutional lawyer Lisa Bildy joins The Ezra Levant Show to discuss the case of a B.C. mother who is facing backlash after publicly opposing a land acknowledgment at her daughter's school during a drama performance. Bildy — the executive director of the Free Speech Union of Canada — is representing Lara Yates, who is in a dispute with the Sunshine Coast School District 46. Yates briefly interrupted a land acknowledgement at Chatelech Secondary School in December of last year, urging the school to stop its race-baiting procedures. The school responded by banning her from school property and child protection services were reportedly contacted. Yates and Bildy argue this violates her Charter rights to freedom of expression and that public schools cannot punish parents for dissenting views on political or ideological statements. "Afterword, the drama teacher actually sort of outed her daughter to the rest of the students and said this is whose parents were heckling," Bildy explained. "And then the kids started bullying this daughter. And not only that, but the principal called in a councillor to assess if she should even be released to her home." Bildy went on: "Eventually they let the daughter go home, but then the principal called Children's Aid, or whatever the BC equivalent is. So a social worker came out to the house to assess whether this family was safe for these children, which was just outrageous." The Free Speech Union and Bildy are challenging Yates' ban and broader school policies. They are also arguing that the school's mandatory land acknowledgement ritual itself may breach the school's legal duty to remain non-sectarian. The case is heading to the BC Supreme Court.