Central Okanagan school board speaks out against rhetoric in wake of Tumbler Ridge shooting

School board pushes back

Photo: Central Okanagan Public Schools

The board office for Central Okanagan Public Schools.

School board officials in the greater Kelowna area are speaking out against anyone who is taking the opportunity to turn attention away from victims of the Tumbler Ridge massacre, and focus it to their own agenda.

"As a school board, as parents, and as British Columbians, our hearts are broken," a statement signed by all school board members said.

"Our focus is now on the suffering of those directly impacted, the safety and well-being of our own school communities, and the shared sorrow felt across our province."

School board officials said even as families waited to hear of their children’s status on that terrible day, "some revealed their own motives by speculating and assigning blame to the suspect’s identity."

"While we all seek answers in times of grief and uncertainty, it is never acceptable to target a community or assign blame to someone’s identity," the board said in the letter.

"To ensure safety, our policies will continue to uphold the BC Human Rights Code; discrimination against any aspect of a person’s identity has no place in our schools or facilities. To those who feel unsafe or are concerned about others due to recent rhetoric, know that our Board remains committed to your safety and well-being at school."

Notably, independent B.C. MLA Tara Armstrong posted on X immediately after the news emerged, saying “there is an epidemic of transgender violence spreading across the West.”

Armstrong also said, “this epidemic of violence will continue until we change our society’s response to transgender ideology.”

RCMP said police had visited the shooter’s home multiple times in the last few years because of her mental health issues. Investigators have not provided a motive for the 18-year-old to carry out one of the worst mass shootings in Canadian history.

Data does not support that gender is a cause for violence.

Mass shootings are rare in Canada, but in the U.S. they're more regular. The Hamline University in Minnesota has published the data from its The Violence Prevention Project has a mass shooter database identifies 201 mass shooters between 1966 and 2024, and only one of them was transgender.

The Kelowna Pride Society came out quickly to address comments being raised by the likes of Armstrong.
“Moments of grief and shock do not excuse the spread of hate, misinformation, or dehumanization," the statement read.

"Trans and gender-diverse communities already face disproportionate levels of violence, harassment, and erasure. Using tragedy as a pretext to further marginalize these communities compounds harm and puts lives at risk."

While the school board did not name anyone they have been more vocal about commentary that runs against their policies in recent months.

The Board of Education of Central Okanagan Public Schools put out a statement in May addressing MLA Tara Armstrong commentary. They said its members "unequivocally support the sovereignty, self-determination, and rights of Indigenous Peoples, in accordance with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and Canadian law."

They made this statement "considering" Kelowna–Lake Country–Coldstream MLA Tara Armstrong's ongoing comments to the contrary.