SD33 trustee removes online video containing crude hand gesture inside a classroom

The video lacks context, but could be connected to a recent court case in which former SD33 trustee Barry Neufeld lost his appeal in which he was found responsible for defaming Dr. Carin Bondar. The B.C. Court of Appeal on Feb. 24 dismissed an appeal from Neufeld, saying the judge found no reviewable errors in a ruling that his statement about Dr. Bondar was defamatory and that his defences raised were not available. The court said his award of damages is entitled to deference and was reasonable on the record. In April 2024, the B.C. Supreme Court ordered Neufeld, a trustee from 1992-2008 and 2011-2022, to pay Bondar $45,000 after losing a defamation lawsuit.

Fraser Valley Today reached out to the SD78 superintendent and Dr. Bondar last week seeking comment and information around the video. Fraser Cascade School District Superintendent Balan Moorthy provided the following statement via email: “The post has been removed, and this is a personnel matter that we are not permitted to discuss.”

Dr. Bondar did not respond to the email.

Fraser Valley Today reached out to the Chilliwack Board of Education where Dr. Bondar is a trustee. Board chair David Swankey wrote the following: “We are aware of a video posted to social media. There is no further information we can share at this time.”

A Chilliwack constituent who contacted the Chilliwack Board of Education about the video, since it involved a current SD33 trustee, got a much longer response from board chair David Swankey, who said any instance of trustee conduct is raised in accordance with board policy and is done so in-camera, meaning not before the public.

by Mike Vanden Bosch

SD33 trustee removes online video containing crude hand gesture inside a classroom

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