Image: Dr. Carin Bondar / Dr. Carin Bondar, a science educator and trustee with the Chilliwack School District, is suing former trustee Barry Neufeld over his comment that she was a "striptease artist." Her defamation lawsuit against Neufeld begins today, Tuesday, Nov. 14 in Chilliwack.

By Mike Vanden Bosch

Lawsuit in Chilliwack

Defamation lawsuit brought by Dr. Carin Bondar against former trustee Barry Neufeld set to begin

Nov 14, 2023 | 6:56 AM

CHILLIWACK — Oral arguments are set to commence today in the defamation lawsuit brought against former SD33 trustee Barry Neufeld by current Chilliwack school board member Dr. Carin Bondar.

The case in British Columbia Supreme Court will be heard in the Chilliwack Law Courts building.

The litigation arose after Neufeld, a multi-term trustee, referred to Bondar as a “strip-tease artist” during an Empower Hour segment, but did not mention her by name. The Empower Hour segment occurred on September 21, 2022 during which time Neufeld stated, “Richard Procee ran against that strip-tease artist in the by-election four years ago.” The actual by-election occurred in early 2021.

According to court filings, plaintiff Bondar is a biologist and science communicator who hosts a variety of of educational scientific series online and on TV. She is an adjunct professor at the University of the Fraser Valley. Her lawyers vehemently dispute the claim that Dr. Bondar is a strip-tease artist. A video circulated in the Chilliwack community back in 2021 showed Bondar on a wrecking ball, but there was a purpose behind the video, her counsel asserts.

“In many of her educational YouTube videos, Dr. Bondar appears scantily clad,” court documents argue. “The video is a parody of a music video by pop singer Miley Cyrus, in which Cyrus is scantily clad. In Dr. Bondar’s video she sings a song about the science of evolution and the importance of relying on scientific evidence to understand the natural world. Dr. Bondar recreated many aspects of the video in her parody, including Cyrus’s style of dress. The video is not a strip-tease.”

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The parody video was released in 2014 and, according to Bondar’s lawyers, received positive attention at the time of its release, including praise on popular websites like Discover Magazine and Business Insider. In 2021, when Bondar ran for and was first elected as a school trustee, the video was used against Dr. Bondar to malign her character and integrity on the basis of her perceived inappropriate behaviour as a woman.

Bondar released a statement to Fraser Valley Today through Facebook Messenger, saying she looks forward to have the issue addressed in court.

“I welcome this issue having it’s day in court. My legal team and I have prepared our case with ample supporting evidence. Although it continues to take an emotional toll, it remains critically important for women in politics to stand up against smear campaigns dedicated to decreasing our desire to serve. The only way forward is through,” Bondar said in her statement.

In Neufeld’s response filed with the court, he states he is a retired corrections, probation and restorative justice facilitation officer, a capacity he served in from 1981 until 2008. He served seven terms on the Chilliwack school board from 1992-2008 and 2011-2022, when he was not reelected as a trustee in October 2022.

Image: Barry Neufeld / Former Chilliwack school board member Barry Neufeld.

According to his response filed with the B.C. Supreme Court, Neufeld says he attracted considerable attention over his last two terms in office by criticizing a program in the schools that he perceived as indoctrinating children to certain gender ideology. Neufeld took issue with sexual orientation and gender ideology (SOGI123) policies because of their potential for far-reaching, adverse implications for children.

In early 2018, Neufeld states, the B.C. Teachers’ Federation and Canadian Union of Public Employees, whose public sectors unions were instrumental in developing and promoting SOGI123, instituted two separate campaigns against Neufeld at the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal on the belief that his criticism of SOGI policies violated B.C. human rights codes.

Neufeld goes on to say that Bondar’s partner and fiancee, Peter Lang, was the petitioner in a SLAPP (strategic lawsuit against public participation) lawsuit against him. Neufeld states Lang’s claim was funded by the B.C. Federation of Labour and was summarily dismissed under B.C.’s Protection of Public Participation Act.

As for the reference to a strip-tease artist, Neufeld said, “If anybody watching the September 21, 2022 Zoom meeting did, in fact, infer that the words ‘striptease artist’ meant the plaintiff, it is because of the plaintiff’s past reputation. Such notoriety was due, in part, because of her sexualized performances posted on YouTube which were controversial, and in my view, extraordinarily unique for anybody running for public office. She defended herself regarding these performances, such as with Global News on February 14, 2021. In my view, the plaintiff’s ‘entire body of work’ demonstrates her passion for deviant sexuality and performance art.”