Not Reserving Judgment

Not Reserving Judgment


Episode 16: Is it racist to require teachers to pass math tests?

November 29, 2023

On Episode 16 of Not Reserving Judgment, we tell you about a Waterloo school board official who lost his bid to block teacher Carolyn Burjoski's defamation claim after he called her transphobic; we get into the discussion over Alberta's Sovereignty Act motion; and we tell you about an Ontario Court of Appeal decision that found requiring math tests for teachers is not racist.


Stories and cases discussed in this week's episode:


  • Court victory for teacher silenced for transgender-book criticism (National Post)
  • Alberta deploys sovereignty act, floats its own power corporation to defy federal clean-energy plan (Globe and Mail)
  • Alberta Sovereignty Within A United Canada Act (Alberta Assembly)
  • Ontario Court of Appeal agrees with CCF: Math tests for teachers weren’t racist (TheCCF.ca)
  • Opinion: The Alberta Sovereignty Act appears to be constitutional (The Hub)
  • Opinion: Alberta's Sovereignty Act is constitutional but it needs nuance (National Post)
  • Despite objections, Kingston council passes community standards bylaw (Kingston Whig-Standard)
  • Nunavut judge says driving bans 'inconvenience' Inuit hunters but don't violate hunting rights (CBC News)


Not Reserving Judgment is a podcast about Canadian constitutional law hosted by Josh Dehaas, Joanna Baron, and Christine Van Geyn.


The show is brought to you by the Canadian Constitution Foundation, a non-partisan legal charity dedicated to defending rights and freedoms. To support our work, visit theccf.ca/donate.