The Waterloo Region District School Board is facing a significant constitutional challenge after implementing mandatory land acknowledgements at school council meetings while prohibiting any discussion or debate about the practice.
Legal Challenge Filed
The Alberta-based Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms has filed a judicial review application on behalf of Geoffrey Horsman, a biochemistry professor and parent with three children in the district's schools. Horsman serves as a member of the Kitchener-Waterloo Collegiate and Vocational School Council.
The legal challenge centers on the board's decision to require land acknowledgements at all school council meetings while simultaneously banning any debate or discussion about the practice. This marks the latest development in an ongoing controversy about compelled speech in educational settings across Ontario.
Parent's Concerns Ignored
According to court documents, Horsman's concerns began when his school council started opening meetings with land acknowledgements without ever holding a vote or debate on the matter. In spring 2025, he attempted to have the issue placed on the council agenda for discussion.
However, the council chair refused his request and directed him to speak with the school principal instead. On May 9, 2025, the principal informed Horsman that the school board required land acknowledgements at all school council meetings and that the topic was not open for debate.
Three Constitutional Grounds
The judicial review application challenges the board's actions on three primary constitutional grounds:
First, the mandated land acknowledgements compel Horsman to sit through statements that contradict his belief in the inherent dignity and equality of all people.
Second, prohibiting discussion about land acknowledgements suppresses his ability to raise concerns or challenge the practice within the school council forum.
Third, the board lacks statutory authority under the Ontario Education Act or Regulation 612/00 to dictate school council practices or impose ideological recitations.
Pattern of Resistance
This case follows similar incidents within the same school board. In September, another parent, Cristina Bairos Fernandes, objected to opening parent involvement committee meetings with land acknowledgements.
While the committee chair agreed to note her objection, Scott Miller, the board's director of education, intervened stating: "I think we've been pretty clear as a district school board what we believe, our commitment to Truth and Reconciliation, call to action. And that's across the province."
The committee ultimately voted to record the objection but excluded mention of the director's interference from the minutes. Horsman was among several parent committee members who requested the minutes include the director's intervention rather than omitting it as if it never occurred.
This pattern extends beyond Waterloo Region. In April, Catherine Kronas, a parent in the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board, raised concerns about imposing political speech in government settings and was subsequently suspended from attending council meetings. She was reinstated only after legal intervention from the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms.
The outcome of this constitutional challenge could have significant implications for school boards across Ontario and potentially nationwide, testing the boundaries of compelled speech in educational settings and the authority of school boards to mandate ideological practices without consultation or debate.
