A former Toronto School Board principal allegedly committed suicide following accusations of bullying over white supremacy after a diversity training session in 2021.

Richard Birkscht took his own life on July 13 after more than a year of emotional distress stemming from his Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) training in the spring of 2021, his attorney Lisa Bildy said. announced on behalf of his family.

With the permission of his family, it is with great sadness that I make this statement regarding the passing of my client, Richard Birkscht. pic.twitter.com/mNzMAxkp5V

— Lisa Bildy (@LDBildy) July 20, 2023

The bullying allegedly began after Birkusht defended Canada against statements by DEI trainer Kike Ojo Thompson that Canada was “a more racist place than the United States” and that the country was a “bastion of white supremacy and colonialism,” The National Post reported. report. “at least [the U.S.] “At least we had a fighting stance against the monarchy. Here we celebrate the monarchy, the very heart and soul and the origins of the colonial structure,” Ojo-Thompson claimed during the training, the paper said.

Birkscht, who has worked in an inner-city school for 24 years, spoke out because she thought Ojo-Thompson’s assessment of Canada was inaccurate. “I think it’s an incredible disservice to learners to sit here and talk about facts and figures, and then walk into the classroom tomorrow and say, ‘Canada is as bad as the United States,'” Birkscht said, according to the National Post.

The defense put Birkusht in the face of white supremacist allegations, with Ojo Thompson and other diversity training facilitators allegedly reprimanding him during training sessions, the paper reported. The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) thanked Ojo Thompson’s KOJO Institute for training and confronting Birkusht, saying it modeled “the discomfort an administrator would need to go through to destroy[anti-black racism],” the National Post reported. (Related: ‘Oppressive Whites’: University’s Massive DEI Bureaucracy Still Not Enough for Student Activists)

A subsequent ruling by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) found Birkusht to have been a victim of workplace bullying and ruled that Ojo-Thompson’s treatment of the former principal was “abusive, disgusting and distasteful,” the paper said.

Building on his experience, Bildy revealed that he will launch a civil lawsuit against TDSB in the spring of 2023 to advocate for people to come together through a more “equality-focused, human-friendly approach.” Mr Birkscht also objected to the TDSB’s use of a lottery system for specialized programs within schools that “ruled out consideration of merit” for approval.

“Ultimately, he was concerned with fairness and respect for all learners, but he believed that public education deviated from its mission,” Birdy explained.

After a 24-year tenure within TDSB, once considered a “leader of life-changing leaders,” Birdy said the blame and stress from the ordeal with TDSB and the KOJO Institute had proved too much for Mr. Birkusht.

“His family and friends are upset and I hope they had the opportunity to convince him that he is loved, respected and needed here. May he rest in peace,” Bildy said.