HWDSB trustees Buck and Archer respond to board’s third-party racism probe
Two Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board trustees are responding for the first time publicly to specific allegations against them of racism and oppression.
In meeting minutes from a March 4 special board meeting, released prior to Monday's board meeting, Kathy Archer, Alex Johnstone and Becky Buck responded to allegations and findings detailed in a third-party report. The letters were released with the trustees' consent. Johnstone read much of her response, which included an apology to the former student trustee who made the allegations, the night of the board meeting on March 4.
Archer's letter includes denials of allegations levelled at her. Buck's letter disputed language used by the third-party investigator.
Just Johnstone and Carole Paikin Miller were issued sanctions at the March 4 meeting after the board deemed they violated the code of conduct. Paikin Miller was found to have breached the code of conduct for making anti-Muslim remarks to other trustees, making comments to the effect of all lives matter," and displaying a poor attitude during human rights and equity advisory committee meetings. In an unprecedented move, the board also voted to recommend Paikin Miller resign. To date, she has not resigned, nor has she responded to The Spectator's requests for comment.
Johnstone was sanctioned for breaching the code of conduct when she prevented a motion from being tabled at a meeting on the police liaison program in schools and when she failed to stop alleged racist comments made during that same meeting.
The board did not find Archer or Buck breached the code of conduct.
A response from Paikin Miller was not included in the meeting minutes. It is unclear whether she did not respond to the board in writing or did not consent to having her response released. In a statement to The Spec, board chair Dawn Danko said she can't confirm if Paikin Miller provided a response or not, as that would be done in camera." Paikin Miller was not present at the meeting at which trustees voted to issue sanctions and call for her resignation.
In Archer's letter, she denies attending a September 2019 trustee dinner at which former student trustee Ahona Mehdi claimed Archer used the N-word" when describing Serena Williams. Archer denied using the racial slur. The third-party report found Mehdi's allegation was unsubstantiated due to insufficient evidence.
I can only add that I rarely attend these pre-board dinners, and categorically state that I did not attend the dinner in question, nor at any time did I describe any person by the use of the N-word,'" Archer wrote in the letter.
The third-party report found evidence that Archer - and Paikin Miller - made comments to the effect that the discussion was not only about Black lives, and that all lives mattered" when discussing a police liaison program in schools at a June meeting. Investigators found that on a balance of probabilities, the trustees did make the comments. The report stated that comments that seek to question or devalue marginalized voices undermine the concept of equity and are in themselves racist and offensive."
If my comments of June 22nd that all students matter and all voices need to be heard' were perceived by some to be offensive or racist, that was in no way my intention, and I'm sorry if I somehow created that impression," Archer said in her letter. The soon to be conducted HWDSB Student Census, entitled We All Count' perhaps best encapsulates my views of inclusivity in general and as a HWDSB trustee in particular."
Buck explained why she used the term Twitter trolls" in a meeting about the police-in-schools program. The term, she said, was not directed at those presenting serious concerns that I valued and respected," but to unknown individuals who were creating a hateful discourse about me online."
In my 18 months as a Trustee (to that point in time), I had never experienced personal messaging on Twitter to the degree that was happening during that time frame," Buck wrote. My interactions on Twitter went from nearly nothing to what felt like a deluge overnight ... I remember feeling harassed and bullied by some of the comments that had been made over the course of several days and even during the meeting that night."
She added that she was under a tremendous amount of stress" at the time, juggling her day job, overseeing remote learning for her three kids, fielding questions from concerned parents and dealing with personal health issues.
She disputed one point from the report, specifically that her use of Twitter trolls" was directed at community activists.
This is completely false and this language was imposed by the investigator. I did not admit to saying Twitter trolls at or in reference to community activists," Buck said.
Katrina Clarke is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach her via email: katrinaclarke@thespec.com