Manitoba parent sued over 'defamatory' Facebook comments

A Manitoba school division is saying comments made by a parent that were posted on social media are defamatory and untrue in a recently filed lawsuit.

Beautiful Plains School Division in Neepawa, Man. said in a statement of claim filed on May 14 with the Court of King’s Bench that a parent of current and former students within the division has been making defamatory comments against the division and a number of teachers at the schools.

Beautiful Plains said in the statement of claim that posts were made on Facebook on April 18, and between May 1 and May 13.

Several of the posts were listed in the claim which named a number of employees in the division, and used profanity such as “f**king Nazi” “You’re a b***h” and "toxic piece of s**t."

The posts also accused staff of sexualizing children, abuse, misogyny and sexism, the suit said.

"The Division says that the Online Defamatory Statement are false and were made for the improper purpose of causing embarrassment and humiliation to the Division and/or its employees," the claim reads.

The division said in the lawsuit, that the comments were meant to undermine the division and "lower the Division in the estimation of members of society in general."

The lawsuit also said the division's character and reputation have been "severely injured" and that it will "continue to suffer significant loss and damage and irreparable harm."

The division is calling on the parent to stop making and publishing untrue statements and to delete previous posts from their social media, the claim said.

The division is also asking for general and punitive damages.

CTV News Winnipeg has reached out to the parent but has not heard back. No statement of defence has been filed.

The allegations have not been tested in court.