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Local educators are calling for a longtime Chilliwack school trustee to step down after he compared allowing children to determine their own gender to “child abuse.”

Barry Neufeld, who has been a school trustee for more than 20 years, took to Facebook on Monday to criticize B.C.’s LGBTQ-friendly policies and curriculum, and to call gender theory a “fad.”

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“If this represents the values of Canadian society, count me out! I belong in a country like Russia, or Paraguay, which recently had the guts to stand up to these radical cultural nihilists,” he wrote.

His post — which disappeared from public view on Tuesday — was met with swift criticism from other educators, including Glen Hansman, president of the B.C. Teachers’ Federation, who called for Neufeld to step down. Hansman said he felt like Neufeld was in a “time warp” when he read the comments.

“He should step down or be removed,” Hansman told Postmedia. “It’s not OK. The public school system in this province and in Canada have the obligation to ensure safe and inclusive school environments for all kids regardless of race, nationality, or religion. They have to proactively address sexism and misogyny, they have to address transphobia and homophobia and racism.