A Burnaby, B.C., teacher who posted a song on social media in the aftermath of the murder of American conservative activist Charlie Kirk has received a formal reprimand from the province’s professional regulator. High school teacher Tyler William Graham entered a consent resolution agreement with the B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation last month in which he admitted to the misconduct and agreed to the consequence. The agreement does not name Kirk, but states that shortly after a “high-profile murder in the United States,” Graham posted an Instagram story of himself playing a guitar and singing a song with the lyrics “If you don’t want to get shot in the neck, don’t push policies that ruin lives.” The commissioner noted that Graham’s Instagram profile was public and he was aware students followed him—and the story was seen by students and “widely shared among the school community.” “The Instagram story was perceived by some students as threatening, inappropriately political, and with a message that appeared to condone extreme violence,” the agreement reads. In September 2025, the Burnaby School District issued Graham a letter of discipline and required him to take a professional boundaries course. The commissioner considered the matter this year and decided the post “constitutes professional misconduct and conduct unbecoming” of a teacher. The agreement says a reprimand was the appropriate consequence because Graham posted a message that “appeared to condone extreme violence in response to the expression of views he did not agree with” and “failed to consider the impact of his message on students and the school community.” The commissioner noted that Graham accepted responsibility for his actions, made his social media account private and removed any past or present students as followers.
