A concerned citizen has called on the Vancouver Police Board to revise their social media policy to better uphold free speech in light of now-former co-chair Comfort Sakoma's ouster.
She was removed in November over posts decrying the erasure of Canadian national identity.
"Under the personal social media policy in the VPD Regulations and Procedures Manual, it states that all employees are free to express themselves as private citizens," Kody Millar said while addressing board members on Thursday.
He added that, per the manual, employees' expression "must not reduce workplace harmony amongst co workers, ridicule, malign, disparage, or otherwise express bias against race, religion or be likely to negatively affect the public perception of the VPD."
"I think it's perfectly clear here that she does have the right to express her opinion, as long as she's not breaking those rules," he declared. "What rules did she actually break?"
He noted that "the only mention of race in her post is where she mentions her ethnicity, she did not mistreat or insult any VPD employee, either, and I also failed to see where she has ridiculed other religions, because she actually seems to show great respect for them in her posts."
"I don't recognize my country anymore," Sakoma said in one of the posts in question. "The friendly smiles, courteous service, and even the simple 'sorry' when someone bumps into you — traits that used to define our culture — are now fading away."
She went on to launch a tirade against policies that she deemed to be "erasing Christian values from the lives of our children" with the goal of having them "replaced by those of a new dominant group."
"What her post was actually about was not about race or religion," Millar argued, "but about preserving the Canadian values in Canada, which is not something I think the board should be against, since I would want police to be protecting and upholding our Canadian values that have made our country lawful."
He decried the fact that it only took one complaint for the board to decide that Sakoma should go, suggesting it "seems more to me like discrimination against people who hold certain Christian and Canadian, traditional Canadian views."
Millar called on the board to revise the social media policy by removing "broad terms" such as "bias," arguing that such words were rife for misinterpretation.
In response, Chair Frank Chong argued that as a board member, Sakoma was bound by the Police Act, which required her to "govern in a way that represents all communities in an unbiased, equitable manner."
He maintained that it was "fully appropriate for myself as the board chair to request for that resignation."
"While I appreciate your particular views around personal rights with regards to how directors should be permitted to speak," Chong added, "there are certain things that directors will need to check at the door when they join the police board."
Millar reiterated that Sakoma had been acting in her own personal capacity, not as a member of the board, to which Chong replied, "I think it's really worthwhile for you to take a look at the Police Act."
He encouraged Millar to contact the relevant office to pursue specific changes to the policy manual.
Following his address, Millar told the Western Standard he was "definitely not" satisfied with the response he received, calling it "very bureaucratic."
When asked whether he believed the board would address his concerns, he said, "I don't want to be too optimistic."
"I'm by myself," Millar added. "I need more people to to, you know, speak out about it, too. If there's enough pressure from the public, then I think that things would change eventually."
"When Kody decided to approach the board, I had never met him, spoken to him, or even heard of him before," Sakoma wrote in a post on X thanking him. "He felt compelled to speak up on my behalf."
She called his speech "incredibly brave."