Waterloo Region District School Board and former teacher reach settlement

A dispute between a school board in Waterloo Region and a former teacher has come to an end.

A legal dispute between the Waterloo Region District School Board and a former teacher has come to an end.

The school board and Carolyn Burjoski both confirmed that a settlement has been reached. Burjoski launched a defamation lawsuit against the school board in regards to an incident that happened four years ago during a school board trustees meeting on Jan. 17, 2022.

Burjoski was raising concerns about books available in elementary school libraries. She felt sexuality was covered in a way that was not age appropriate. Her presentation cited two books specifically; one about a transgender teenager and the other discussed asexuality.

Burjoski told trustees at the meeting that “some of the books make it seem simple, even cool, to take puberty blockers and opposite sex hormones.”

Scott Piatkowski, who was board chair at the time, stopped her mid-presentation, citing concerns that her comments violated the Ontario Human Rights Code.

Burjoski was removed from the Zoom meeting and a recording of the session was taken off social media.

In May of that year, she launched a $1.75 million lawsuit against the school board and Piatkowski for defamation, libel and slander.

Court documents filed as part of the lawsuit claimed statements the board and Piatowski used to describe Burjoski were false and damaging to her reputation.

The school board, in response, asked the court to dismiss the case.

On Nov. 23, 2023, The Ontario Court of Justice rejected the school board’s attempt.

Justice James Ramsay handed down the ruling, saying the lawsuit launched by Carolyn Burjoski can proceed. He also ordered the school board to pay $30,000 of Burjoski’s legal fees.

In his ruling, Justice Ramsay said, in part: “…the Human Rights Code does not prohibit public discussion of issues related to transgenderism or minors and transgenderism. It does not prohibit public discussion of anything.”

He went on to say it was regrettable that as an arm of the government, the defendant tried to shut down debate.

The lawsuit could then proceed.

On Jan. 17, 2026, Burjoski published a news release announcing a settlement had been reached.

“Four years ago today, I was silenced for asking questions that I believed every parent and educator should be asking,” Burjoski wrote in the release. “The lawsuit has now been settled, and I have released a video completing the presentation I was prevented from finishing."

In an email to CTV News, she said the closure of the case enables her to have a happy and stress-free retirement. “I will be enjoying my grandbabies, traveling with my husband, and enjoying life.”

CTV News reached out to the school board for comment.

“We acknowledge that the matter has been settled via mediation,” a spokesperson for the school board said in an email. “As a party to the agreement, we cannot offer further comments on the matter.”