Does residential school denialism belong in our public schools?

For those who want to register concern briefly. Focused on the core moral case.

Dear Superintendent McGregor,

I am writing to express my concern about the "Emergency Town Hall" scheduled at Prince of Wales Secondary on 2 May, hosted by MLA Dallas Brodie. A Vancouver School Board facility should not, in my view, be used to host an event whose speaker has publicly questioned the settled historical record of the residential school system, and whose statements have been condemned by Indigenous governance bodies across this province.

The speaker was removed from a similar event at the University of Victoria, and escorted off campus at UBC. Many members of our community feel the ongoing harm this kind of public messaging causes to Indigenous families.

I do not believe this booking reflects the values the VSB has committed to, and I would ask the district to reconsider.

With care.

Cites VSB Administrative Procedure 553 and the Canadian Charter of Human Rights. Useful for readers who want to point the board at its own rules.

Dear Superintendent McGregor,

I am writing as a VSB parent to share my concerns about the "Emergency Town Hall" scheduled at Prince of Wales Secondary on 2 May, hosted by MLA Dallas Brodie.

Ms Brodie's public statements on the residential school system directly contradict BC curriculum and the established historical record, and have led to her being expelled from her own party. She has described Truth and Reconciliation efforts as "the multi-billion-dollar reconciliation industry" and accused BC leadership of transferring the province's "wealth and power" to "an elite racial minority".

Hosting this event in a public secondary school is difficult to reconcile with the VSB's own policies on facility use. Administrative Procedure 553 (Community and Commercial Use of Facilities and Grounds) commits the district to rent facilities "in accordance with the spirit and intent of the Canadian Charter of Human Rights". Board Policy 21 is more direct still, committing the district against "the distribution of discriminatory or hateful propaganda" in "providing access to facilities".

I would be grateful to understand how this booking was assessed against those policies, and whether it can still be reconsidered.

Best,
[Your name]

The full policy picture. Cites four separate VSB and provincial instruments. For readers willing to write a longer, more formal letter.

Dear Superintendent McGregor,

I am writing as a Vancouver resident to share my concern about the "Emergency Town Hall" scheduled at Prince of Wales Secondary on 2 May, hosted by MLA Dallas Brodie.

Ms Brodie's public record is a matter of open record. She has been publicly denounced by government officials and by Indigenous and non-Indigenous groups across the country for her statements on the residential school system. She was expelled from the BC Conservative caucus in March 2025 over that conduct. Her December 2025 appearance at the University of Victoria was declared not permitted by the university. Her January 2026 event at UBC ended with the RCMP escorting her off campus.

I would like to emphasise the policy picture, because I believe it is more consistent than this booking suggests.

Board Policy 21 (Anti-Racism and Non-Discrimination) states plainly that the District "will not tolerate acts of hate, discrimination, or the distribution of discriminatory or hateful propaganda", and applies expressly to the District's conduct "in providing access to facilities".

Administrative Procedure 553 commits the district to rent its facilities "in accordance with the spirit and intent of the Canadian Charter of Human Rights".

The Aboriginal Education Enhancement Agreement commits the VSB to align its policies and practices with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Under the BC Human Rights Code, as amended in 2023, "Indigenous identity" is an explicit protected ground in both s.7 (publication likely to expose to hatred) and s.8 (denial of a facility customarily available to the public). These provisions bind the District when it rents out a public auditorium.

Read together, I find it hard to see how this booking fits. I would welcome the opportunity to understand how it was assessed against AP 553 and Policy 21, who approved it, and whether the decision can still be reviewed before 2 May.

Thank you for your time and for the work the VSB does.