The Waterloo Catholic District School Board has been sent a letter by the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms threatening legal action over its policy prohibiting recordings or photos at public meetings.
(LifeSiteNews) -- A Canadian Catholic school board has been warned via a legal letter that its ban on photos or audio recordings of its public meetings is “unconstitutional” and possible legal action could ensue should the ban not be reversed.
In a recent press release, the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) announced that a letter had been served to Waterloo Catholic District School Board (WCDSB) chairman Bob Sikora and director Tyrone Dowling over its policy banning recordings.
According to the JCCF, Jack Fonseca, who is a resident of the Waterloo region and serves as the director of political operations for Campaign Life Coalition (CLC), attended a WCDSB public meeting on January 27, as he did “many” times before.
However, at this meeting, Fonseca, when he took out his phone to take a picture, was told by security he was allowed to take only one photo.
“Security then said he would not be allowed to record video or audio in the public meeting; if he tried to do so, he would be ejected,” the JCCF noted.
“Mr. Fonseca had photographed and recorded previous WCDSB meetings. He had seen others do the same, including members of the press.”
When Fonseca sought clarification from the Board, he was told by Sikora that the WCDSB had not “passed any policy forbidding photography or audio/video recording,” the JCCF said.
“Rather, it was the Director of Education and Secretary of the Board Tyrone Dowling who, on his own initiative, had instructed security staff to ban photography and recording.”
After Fonseca’s incident, the WCDSB placed a note on its website under “Meeting Information” that stated there were now new sign-in protocols for visitors that prohibited them from taking pictures or making audio/video recordings at board meetings.
Lawyer Hatim Kheir for Charter Advocates Canada, a group connected to the JCCF that served the letter, noted that “School boards are an important form of local democracy, but the reality is that very few people from the community are able to attend (meetings).”
“The ability of attendees to photograph, record, and disseminate what occurs at meetings helps the broader public get engaged. The ability to record is protected by the Constitution and promotes the democratic function of school boards,” he noted.
The JCCF in its warning letter noted that the WCDSB, as a government entity, has a “duty to respect the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.”
“Photography and audio/video recording are protected under Charter Section 2(b), which guarantees freedom of “expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication,” the JCCF said.
“Audio and video recording itself is not ‘improper conduct’ justifying the exclusion of individuals from meetings. School boards are democratically elected and public board meetings foster local democratic decision-making and civic engagement.”
The JCCF’s letter warned the WCDSB that if it “fails” to remove the “prohibitions on recording,” it may face “legal action.”
The JCCF also noted in its letter that instead of banning recordings of its meetings, the WCDSB should instead allow “audio/video recording of its meetings, to recognize that “doing so advances the freedom of expression, including the right to hear, of Waterloo Region residents and enhances democratic engagement in its constituents.”
As reported by LifeSiteNews, many Catholic school boards in Canada have faced opposition from concerned parents and citizens regarding woke policies such as allowing “pride” flags to be flown at schools.
Other school boards, such as Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board, after parental and public outcry, have voted to ban “pride” flags from being flown at schools.
