LADYSMITH, BC: The Free Speech Union of Canada (“FSUC”) is pleased to announce that Nanaimo Ladysmith Public School Board has dropped an exclusion order against parent Bryony Dixon, which would have kept her from attending her child’s school for the entire year, after the FSUC provided a lawyer to initiate an appeal.
On September 2, Ms. Dixon posted a blurry picture of a staff member at her child’s elementary school wearing a controversial flag on their shirt. She commented that, “an ideologue teacher at my son’s school has chosen to rock the extremist, misogynist, and homophobic flag of their shared secular religion on the first day back.” It is noteworthy that the school board sports the same Pride symbolism in its social media.
That same day she received a letter from the Assistant Superintendent, instructing her to remove the “offensive post” and threatening her with an order under the School Act that would bar her from attending school property. On September 5, she received a further letter from the Superintendent, Robyn Gray, stating that the post “links violence in the United States with an identifiable photo of a member of our staff, thereby creating a risk of inciting violence against them.” An exclusion order was issued against Ms. Dixon, instructing her not to come on the school premises again without prior approval from the superintendent, failing which the Royal Canadian Mounted Police could be called.
Ms. Dixon pulled her child immediately to commence homeschooling and contacted the FSUC, of which she is a member, for assistance. The FSUC is a mass-membership, not-for-profit organization dedicated to the defence of free speech in Canada. It is providing funding for Ms. Dixon’s legal representation by FSUC’s Executive Director, Lisa Bildy, through her law firm, Libertas Law. Ms. Bildy sent a letter to Superintendent Gray on September 19 advising that the decision to ban Ms. Dixon from the school over her online commentary was improper, contrary to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and was subject to appeal.
On October 6, Superintendent Gray sent a letter to counsel advising that she had made the decision to revoke the order, effective immediately, and welcomed Ms. Dixon’s child back to school. However, the Superintendent stated that, while the Board respects the right to freedom of expression, she would continue to request that posts “seemingly targeted at specific district employees” be taken down. No apology was issued by the school, as had been requested.
“We are pleased that the Board saw fit to revoke the exclusion order,” said Ms. Bildy. “Schools are public bodies that are not immune from criticism, and it is not appropriate for a board to censor or punish parents for drawing attention to concerns, such as the politicization of the school environment,” she concluded.
The FSUC will continue to monitor increasing attempts by public schools to punish parents for their speech and will intervene where appropriate. On June 24, 2025, the FSUC sent a letter of concern on behalf of a parent to the Toronto District School Board after he was instructed to remove a post critical of his child’s school principal. And, on June 26, 2025, the FSUC again expressed concern to the Hamilton Wentworth District School Board over its censure of a parent who expressed her opposition to land acknowledgments at a school council meeting.
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