Teacher pens scathing open letter to Mike Ward

Comedian Mike Ward play a sold-out concert on Saturday night, proceeds of which will go towards helping him fight $42,000 in fines handed to him by a Human Rights Tribunal, but not everyone is amused.

A teacher on the South Shore had some strong words for comedian Mike Ward in an open letter she posted on Facebook that has since gone viral, being shared more than 53,000 times.

The letter, which was posted by Julie Boivin on July 27, takes Ward to task for being a bully against those who are different, saying it’s hypocritical for society to take a zero-tolerance stance against bullying in schools but permitting it onstage.

“In Quebec, in 2016, we fight against bullying in schools,” said Boivin.  “It’s been like this since a few years ago, too many stories of young people being intimidated came to our attention. Sad stories that sometimes have tragic ending, which have end led to suicide. Nobody can deny this problem today.”

Boivin criticized Ward’s decision to hold a fundraiser, saying she will do her best to impart lessons about empathy on to her students.

“How dare you call this humour?” she said. “By that definition, any insults and injuries could be humour.”

For his part, Ward was defiant on stage, repeating the joke about Jeremy Gabriel, a young man suffering from a congenital disorder, that got him fined.

Ward has said he plans to appeal the decision.