Former BC teacher takes constitutional case to Supreme Court over Kamloops controversy

Jim McMurtry, a nearly 40-year veteran teacher and scholar of Indigenous history, was expelled from his Kamloops classroom in 2021 after inviting students to critically examine the “mass graves” claim. The incident led to a suspension, and he was ultimately terminated in 2023. After the B.C. Teachers’ Federation abandoned his grievance and the Labour Relations Board declined to hear his challenge, the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms agreed to represent him before the B.C. Supreme Court.

The court will assess whether McMurtry’s Charter right to free expression was unlawfully curtailed and whether procedural fairness was denied. Constitutional lawyer Hatim Kheir argues that both the union and the labour board failed to protect those rights, leaving government employees without effective remedies. McMurtry hopes the case will restore professional speech rights for teachers nationwide, even if reinstatement is unlikely at his age.