EDMONTON—A trustee with the Edmonton library says she’s been forced to resign after she waded into a controversy over free speech, trans rights and speaker Meghan Murphy that began at the Toronto Public Library.

Jill Scheyk says she’s being punished for speaking her mind by a library whose CEO described herself publicly as “pro free speech” during the Murphy debate.

It all started back in October, when the Toronto Public Library was intensely criticized for hosting Murphy, who argues that people assigned as male at birth remain male for life. Critics say she is transphobic, while supporters say she’s a defender of free speech.

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Hundreds showed up to protest her Oct. 29 speech at the Toronto library. The next day, Edmonton library CEO Pilar Martinez tweeted in support of the Toronto library and said she was “very proud” of their commitment to freedom of expression and intellectual freedom.

Dozens responded, slamming Martinez for her position. Martinez did not back down, releasing a statement that said, “I am not anti anyone. I am pro free speech.”

Hundreds showed up to protest Megan Murphy's appearance at the Toronto Public Library on November 29, 2019. (Toronto Star/Rick Madonik)

Scheyk, a member of Edmonton library’s board of trustees since June 2015, emailed Martinez directly, saying she was disappointed in Martinez’s position and that she believed it was harmful to the trans community and didn’t align with the organization’s commitment to providing a safe space for all. She asked Martinez to apologize to the trans community.

The offer she received, to set up a meeting with the CEO, provided her little comfort, she told the Star.

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“It just confirmed my original reservations that this was not something that would be dealt with openly and through community consultation.”

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Scheyk said she had seen many people expressing their anger and frustration online, and tweeted about Edmonton library’s looming public board meeting on Nov. 12.

“We are a public library board and as such, as an Edmontonian you can ask to speak at our meetings,” she tweeted on Nov. 1, along with information about how to register to speak and how to get an item on the meeting agenda. She also referenced the organization’s own policy on meeting rooms.

A few days later, she was told some of her recent conduct could have breached the Edmonton library trustee code of conduct. She was sent a more formal letter on Nov. 12, saying her behaviour “warrants assessment” as a breach of policy.

Specifically, it referred to her Nov. 1 tweet, in which she identified herself as an Edmonton library board member “without awareness of, or delegation from the Board or Board Chair.”

It further notes that she posted an internal document about how EPL staff should respond to questions about the Murphy controversy and that her email to the CEO was sent without the board’s awareness or input.

“Your Twitter activity overall provided a catalyst for anonymous and extremely disrespectful input towards our CEO and EPL in general,” the letter states.

Edmonton Public Library's downtown location at 7 Sir Winston Churchill Square, pictured on Feb. 11, 2020. In October, the library’s CEO caused a controversy for supporting the Toronto Public Library hosting speaker Meghan Murphy. (Omar Mosleh / Toronto Star )

Scheyk defended her actions in a letter to the board, saying she’d never heard of trustees having to clear their personal stance on issues. She said she did not actually reference the Murphy controversy in the Twitter thread and said she was sharing publicly available information about board meetings.

“I would not say in any way that I fanned the flames of that situation,” Scheyk said. “I was very careful to be quite neutral in my commentary.”

In her response, Scheyk apologized for posting the internal document and said she retweeted a story about Edmonton library’s writer in residence speaking out against the CEO by accident. Scheyk said the internal documents referenced the controversy that unfolded at Toronto Public Library and talking points for how Edmonton library staff should respond to questions about the CEO’s tweet and blog post.

On Jan. 15, she received a letter from the board asking her to resign. She did so on Feb. 10.

Edmonton library board chair Fern Snart said Tuesday she could not go into great detail on what aspects of the code of conduct Scheyk breached, but said it was an “amalgam.”

The letter sent to Scheyk includes a link to EPL’s policy on conflict of interest in the code of conduct. Snart was not able to speak to what specific conflict of interest arose.

“Conflict of interest, there was an allusion to that, given the communications and so on. But in truth, the amalgam is more than any of the discrete breaches,” she said.

She added that board members have a responsibility to speak to the chair before publicly sharing information that could be perceived “as either in one's own interest or perhaps when ... was speaking on behalf of the board, when in fact that was not sanctioned.”

Martinez told the Star Scheyk’s resignation was a board matter, so it wouldn’t be appropriate for her to comment. She defended the library’s commitment to freedom of speech and expanded on how it aligns with allowing controversial speakers to use their meeting spaces.

“Libraries have had a mandate since they were libraries to provide public spaces to everyone in our society, no matter what their beliefs. The key is that the library is not endorsing … anybody who is using their meeting spaces,” she said.

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She said people should be allowed to use the meeting spaces as long as they’re not doing anything illegal and said Murphy has not been charged with hate speech.

“Just because something’s uncomfortable or we don’t agree with it doesn’t mean that that person shouldn’t be allowed to use a space. … Censorship doesn’t work,” she added. “That isn’t the answer to our social challenges.”

She said she did not have any role in the board’s decision to ask Scheyk to resign.

Scheyk said leaving the organization and seeing the CEO defend what Scheyk personally considers to be a transphobic stance is especially painful because, as a child, the library was her safe space.

“It was definitely that place where I always felt welcome as a kid, even when I didn’t always feel welcome in all kinds of spaces,” Scheyk said. “And I just desperately want it to be that way for everyone.”

She said she hopes her resignation will lead to more public scrutiny of speakers such as Murphy and organizations that support them, as well as an attitude change at the library.