4 fired school board trustees demand B.C. minister apologize for ‘defamation’
VANCOUVER — Four fired members of the Vancouver School Board are demanding a retraction and an apology from British Columbia’s education minister, saying he made defamatory statements about them.
Mike Bernier dismissed all nine board members on Oct. 17 after months of bullying allegations cited by six senior managers who went on medical leave at the end of September.
The four trustees alleging defamation are with the reigning Vision Vancouver party, while another four are members of the Non-Partisan Association, and one is from the Green party.
A statement released Wednesday on behalf of the Vision trustees — Mike Lombardi, Patti Bacchus, Joy Alexander and Allan Wong — said their lawyer sent Bernier a letter saying the minister seriously defamed his clients’ good names and reputations in a series of letters, media releases and leaks to the press.