A former British Columbia high school teacher has asked the Supreme Court of British Columbia to review a Labour Relations Board decision, arguing he was denied a meaningful opportunity to challenge his dismissal after his union refused to take his grievance to arbitration.The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) announced Tuesday it has filed a petition for judicial review on behalf of Jim McMurtry, who was fired after leading a classroom discussion in 2021 about reports of unmarked graves at the former Kamloops residential school.According to the JCCF, McMurtry taught in B.C. public schools for nearly 30 years and held senior educational leadership positions internationally without ever facing disciplinary action before the incident.The legal challenge stems from events on May 31, 2021, when McMurtry was working as a substitute teacher in a Grade 12 calculus class. After a school announcement regarding the reported discovery of unmarked graves at the former Kamloops indian Residential School, he led a classroom discussion in which he questioned historical facts, the terminology being used before investigations had been completed, and other documented causes of death at residential schools.School administrators removed McMurtry from the classroom that day, suspended him the following day and terminated his employment for cause in February 2023.The British Columbia Teachers' Federation later declined to advance his dismissal grievance to arbitration. After the Labour Relations Board upheld that decision, lawyers funded by the JCCF filed the judicial review application.The petition argues that because B.C.'s Labour Relations Code gives unions exclusive control over the grievance process, government employees can be left without a remedy for alleged Charter violations if their union refuses to proceed with a case..The application asks the court to find that a union's duty of fair representation must include consideration of Charter rights when deciding whether to pursue a grievance."This case raises an important constitutional question affecting thousands of unionized government employees across Canada," said constitutional lawyer Hatim Kheir."For our constitutional rights to be meaningful, we must also be able to obtain a remedy. Under the status quo, Canadians who work for government institutions may be thwarted in seeking relief for violations of their rights if their unions decide not to take the case."McMurtry said he believes he lost his teaching career because he spoke "truthfully about residential schools.""I was removed from teaching for speaking truthfully about residential schools, but in this David and Goliath fight against powerful institutions, I needed legal support and am deeply grateful to the Justice Centre for coming to the aid of a teacher buffeted by winds of intolerance," he said.The next stage of the case will require the parties to obtain the Labour Relations Board's record, exchange affidavits and prepare for a hearing before the Supreme Court of British Columbia.
