Former Abbotsford School District (ASD) teacher Jim McMurtry could lose his teaching licence for speaking to students about a major cause of death at residential schools. .“The independent regulatory body for BC teachers (Teacher Regulation Branch) sent my lawyer on August 3 the consent resolution agreement for ‘the cancellation of [my] certificate of qualification’ before any adjudication of my case,” said McMurtry in a press release. .“If the TRB is sending me this before any determination on the merits of my case — as arbitration has not even been scheduled — I cannot help but wonder what prompted them to do so.”.McMurtry said in December the ASD was recommending he be terminated because he challenged the residential schools narrative. .READ MORE: BC teacher facing termination for telling students the truth.One student in a class when he was a substitute teacher said the priests murdered the children at the Kamloops Indian Residential School by torturing them and leaving them out in the snow to die. He corrected her by saying “the children who died tragically while enrolled in residential schools did so from disease, particularly tuberculosis.” .Two vice principals came up to his class and demanded he leave the school. He was put on an eight-month suspension without being told why. .McMurtry was terminated in February for refusing to teach what the ASD wanted him to about residential schools. .READ MORE: BC teacher fired for telling students different side of residential schools.“The authors of my firing are a small group of Woke Puritans, unthinking bureaucrats, and power-hungry lagos,” he said. .“I stand for freedom, children’s interests over employer’s interests, encouraging students to think for themselves, free conscience, plurality of opinion, and the open pursuit of knowledge.” .McMurtry questioned if the BC Commissioner for Teacher Regulation was colluding with the ASD. If so, he said that would be improper. .The original allegation against him from 2021 was he said there was no intent for murder at residential schools. He was told later he might be fired because students were left with the impression some or all of the deaths were from natural causes and that they could not be called murder. .The ASD said he was fired for inflammatory, inappropriate, and insensitive comments to students about graves. Now he is to be barred from teaching for saying deaths at residential schools were comparable to those of the general population. .“The central allegation against me has changed four times,” he said. .The BC Commissioner for Teacher Regulation said it felt cancelling his licence was an appropriate consequence for his actions. .“McMurtry’s two messages to students about his employment-related issues breached his professional boundaries with students, by inappropriately drawing students into his personal conflict with the District, contrary to Standard #1,” it said. .“McMurtry’s comments to students about the deaths of students at the Kamloops Indian Residential School breached Standard #9, because they were disrespectful and inflammatory, minimized the harms that occurred in Indian Residential Schools by falsely suggesting that student deaths at the schools were comparable to the general child mortality rate and not the result of a government strategy of cultural genocide, and did not contribute towards truth, reconciliation, and healing.”.It called his comments to Rebel News “attitudes inconsistent with the requirement in Standard #1 to treat students equitably with acceptance, dignity, and respect; in Standard #3 to work to create a positive, safe, and inclusive learning environment to best meet the diverse needs of students; and Standard #9 to contribute towards truth, reconciliation, and healing with indigenous people.”.His comments hurt the education system by creating an unwelcoming environment for some students and their families and by undermining people’s confidence in it. .The director of certification will record the terms of this agreement on the online registry of the BC Ministry of Education and Child Care under Section 79d of the Teachers Act. .If he applies for another teaching certification, the Commissioner for Teacher Regulation said the director will have to determine his fitness and suitability before granting one. .Some factors the director might consider include the facts set out and admitted to in this agreement, any document or evidence gathered and prepared in this investigation, and any evidence of a breach by him. .It concluded by saying he can voluntarily enter into this agreement after receiving independent legal advice and that he should understand the terms and conditions set out in it. .The Commissioner for Teacher Regulation could not be reached for comment in time for publication.
