The B.C. Civil Liberties Association is praising the decision of the Honourable Mr. Justice Holmes of the Supreme Court of British Columbia in Kempling v. BC College of Teachers. The court decided that the College acted reasonably and did not violate Mr. Kempling’s free speech rights when it disciplined him for discriminatory statements he made in the local newspaper between 1997 and 2000 regarding homosexuality. Mr Kempling was a high school teacher and student counselor at the time in Quesnel, B.C. The court held that there was no violation of Mr. Kempling’s free speech rights and alternatively, if there was, the College was justified in doing so.
The BCCLA, represented by Elliott Myers, Q.C. and Craig Jones of Bull Housser Tupper, intervened in the case. According to Mr. Myers: “The Kempling case is an important case for understanding principles of freedom of expression and the limits on free speech. The court sent a clear message today that a teacher can not expect to use a free speech defense when he makes public and discriminatory statements in his professional capacity in a way that would undermine the values our public schools must teach students – respect for diversity and equality – and in a way that would effectively prevent him from doing his job.”
The Association argued that an important distinction must be made between an individual who expresses his viewpoints in his personal capacity – which is deserving of greater protection – from an individual who express personal opinions in his professional capacity. In this case, the court clearly found that Mr. Kempling’s statements caused harm in two ways. First, by linking his personal views to his professional capacity as a teacher and student counselor, the court found that he undermined his ability to carry out his job in an impartial way. Second, the court found that the College of Teachers could reasonably infer other harms such as a loss of public confidence in the teacher and school system, a loss of respect by students of the teacher and the controversies negative impact on the school’s function of imparting values to students. The court also found that gay students would be reluctant to approach Mr. Kempling for counseling.
An example of Mr. Kempling’s statements that the court found problematic included: “Some readers may be wondering why I am putting my professional reputation on the line over the homosexuality issue, and some are questioning my competence to counsel … Sexual orientations can be changed and the success rate for those who seek help is high. My hope is that students who are confused over their sexual orientation will come to see me.” [August 27, 1997, Quesnel Cariboo Observer]
