My Story
My name is Carolyn Burjoski, and I was a teacher with the Waterloo Region District School Board for over 20 years. On January 17, 2022, I registered to speak at a public school board meeting. I read aloud from two books available to children in our own elementary school libraries and asked whether the sexual content in them was appropriate for the age group.
I never finished. The Board Chair cut me off, accused me of violating the Human Rights Code and removed me from the meeting.
The next day, I was suspended from my classroom and barred from speaking to my colleagues and students. The Board then filed a formal complaint against me and hired an outside firm to conduct a disciplinary investigation.
Over the next few days, I became the centre of a national media frenzy fuelled by public statements made by the Board Chair on radio, television, and social media. He attributed to me remarks that I did not make, characterized them as hateful, and accused me of violating the Human Rights Code.
The School Board quickly removed the video of the meeting from its website, so people could not hear for themselves what I had actually said.
The stress on me and my family was overwhelming. On January 22, I suffered a breakdown from extreme anxiety and was taken to hospital by ambulance. Just five days before my retirement, the investigator summoned me for questioning and required me to sign a gag order. The investigation could not proceed because my doctor placed me on medical leave. On January 31, I retired from teaching, but not on the terms I had hoped for after two decades in the classroom. No recognition. No traditional retirement send-off.
I believed then, and I believe now, that this incident exposed a serious problem: school boards are using language and human rights legislation as weapons to silence anyone who questions their policies. The message to teachers is clear. If you speak up, you will be punished.
Taking Action
I asked the Board for a public apology. They refused. So in May 2022, I filed a defamation claim with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice against the WRDSB and its Board Chair, Scott Piatkowski, to hold them accountable for their words and actions.
The Board’s response was to try to have my case thrown out before it could ever be heard, bringing an anti-SLAPP motion — an expensive and complex legal tool originally designed to protect little people like me from lawfare by giant institutions. Ironically, the school board used a legal tool intended to protect small defendants as a weapon to try to silence me.
In November 2023, the Ontario Superior Court dismissed that motion. The Court found my claim had merit and awarded me costs. My case would proceed.
The Board appealed the decision.
In November 2024, the Ontario Court of Appeal dismissed the Board’s appeal. For the second time, a court confirmed that my case deserved to be heard.
Resolution
In December 2025, after nearly four years and $250,000 in legal costs, the matter was resolved through mediation. The terms of the settlement are confidential.
What is not confidential is the record. Two courts examined the Board’s attempt to end my case before it began, and twice the Board was told no. That record stands, and it is public.
Thank You
I could not have done this alone, and I did not.
Hundreds of people I have never met sent money, letters, and encouragement over four years. Teachers wrote to me privately because they were afraid to write publicly. Parents told me their own stories. Journalists took the time to look past the headlines and report what actually happened. My family carried me through the worst of it.
You made it possible for one person to stand up to an institution and be heard. I will always be grateful.
What Comes Next
I am now writing the full account of what happened — the parts that never made the news, the four years of litigation, the emotional toll and what I have come to understand about how our schools are being run and who is permitted to ask questions about it.
The memoir is called Cancelled Teacher. If you would like to know when it is released, you can sign up below.