Our November speaker will be Jim McMurtry. Jim is an author, educator and the son of Roy McMurtry, Ontario’s former Attorney General and Chief Justice who helped patriate Canada's Constitution. In his presentation, Jim will discuss his experience with the Abbotsford School District administrators, a story captured in his engaging and provoking book, The Scarlet Lesson. 

The Scarlet Lesson
The Scarlet Lesson is Jim McMurtry’s powerful memoir. It recounts how a veteran teacher of forty years was publicly humiliated, investigated, and expelled from the classroom simply for stating a factual historical assertion about Indigenous residential schools. He frames his story as a warning to anyone who dares question narratives set by those in power. Throughout the narrative, he casts light on the rising tide of ideology masking as orthodoxy in education and society: the lowering of academic rigor, the coddling of students, intolerance toward inconvenient truths, and the absence of due process in Canada’s school systems. McMurtry never veers into bitterness; his tone remains gently humorous, resilient, and unresentful. Though the title alludes to The Scarlet Letter, his “scarlet lesson” is not one of shame, but one of courage for all who believe and speak truth.

Jim McMurtry is a Canadian educator whose four-decade teaching career spanned history classrooms and leadership roles. In recent years, he became the first teacher in Canada to go public opposing the oft-repeated claim of mass graves at the former Kamloops Residential School. A narrative unsupported by verifiable evidence. His public stance sparked disciplinary action: investigations, suspension, and eventual dismissal long before his planned retirement.