Could school boards soon fire trustees found to be racist? The Ontario Human Rights Commission wants that to be an option
The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) is floating the idea that school board trustees found to be racist could face firing as a potential sanction - a move that, if implemented, could affect Hamilton trustees.
In a letter dated Nov. 1 and submitted to the Ministry of Education as part of a now-complete consultation on strengthening school board trustee accountability, the OHRC said it was concerned about reports of trustees engaging in discriminatory conduct including making homophobic, Islamophobic and racist comments."
The OHRC confirmed the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board was among the boards it was aware of having trustee conduct" issues.
It is particularly troubling when such behaviour is exhibited by education leaders entrusted with the responsibility to ensure school systems uphold and champion human rights," read the letter, signed by OHRC chief commissioner Patricia DeGuire.
Stronger sanctions, such as removal from office where the law permits, may be necessary in the case of a very serious (code of conduct) breach."
In Hamilton, HWDSB trustee Carole Paikin Miller was asked by her colleagues to resign earlier this year after she was found to have breached the trustee code of conduct for making anti-Muslim remarks to other trustees, making comments to the effect that all lives matter and other comments and behaviour. To date, Paikin Miller has not resigned.
Trustee Alex Johnstone was found to have violated the code of conduct when she failed to stop alleged racist comments made during a board meeting about the police liaison program in schools in June 22, 2020.
Currently, Ontario's Education Act gives school boards no power to remove trustees for code of conduct breaches.
In a statement to The Spectator, the OHRC made clear that firing should not be the only option.
There may be certain circumstances where stronger sanctions may be necessary to meet the remedial and preventative goals of human rights law," said Adewonuola Johnson, OHRC spokesperson. These could include for example, mandating participation in additional human rights training or, in the case of very serious breaches, removing a trustee from office where the law permits."
The Ministry of Education would not say if it is now considering allowing boards to fire trustees.
Dawn Danko, chair of the HWDSB, said the board looks forward to opportunities to improve the code of conduct framework, noting that all elected officials should be held to the same standard."
Katrina Clarke is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach her via email: katrinaclarke@thespec.com