Trustee turns to court amid debate over God Save the King in Dauphin schools

A trustee on Dauphin’s beleaguered school board has turned to the courts following his colleagues’ refusal to support a return to students singing God Save the King on a daily basis.

Manitoba children and youth are — at least on paper — required to recite an ode to the reigning constitutional monarch on all regular school days, either during morning announcements or before dismissal.

The Kinew government is in the process of scrapping the dusty clause in the Public Schools Act that has not been enforced for more than 25 years.

(The opposition Progressive Conservatives have delayed Bill 40, which would repeal the Schools Patriotic Observances Regulation, until the fall.)

“The law is not optional. No board has the authority to suspend provincial statutes or regulations,” Ethelbert-based trustee Paul Coffey wrote in an affidavit that was recently submitted to the Court of King’s Bench in Dauphin.

“If the board disagrees with a regulation, the proper response is to advocate for lawful change.”

Coffey filed an ex-parte application — an avenue for a complainant seeking urgent relief — under Section 39.7(2) of the Public Schools Act on June 2.

Simply put, he is seeking approval to file an application to have a judge issue a declaration that six trustees in the Mountain View School Division violated the act when they voted on Jan. 27, amid public outcry, to pause a mid-year reintroduction of God Save the King in Dauphin schools.

He is accusing the board members of purposefully breaching their respective oaths of office and participating in unlawful action that has diminished public trust in their governance.

The application names trustees Scott Lynxleg, Floyd Martens, Gabe Mercier, Conrad Nabess, John Taylor and Jarri Thompson.

Chairperson Jason Gryba and vice-chairperson Kerri Wieler are the only elected officials on the nine-seat board not directly involved in the legal action.

“On its face, the (case) does appear frivolous,” said Cameron Hauseman, an associate professor of educational administration at the University of Manitoba. “I’d argue it’s nothing more than a waste of judicial resources in an effort to score some cheap political points.”

An effective school board weighs its legislative responsibilities against other goals in the education system, such as fostering student well-being and belonging, Hauseman said.

Manitoba is the only province that, in 1964 — a decade into the late Queen Elizabeth’s reign — legislated the royal anthem into everyday proceedings at kindergarten-to-Grade 12 schools.

Asked about why Mountain View’s 16 schools were given marching orders to honour King Charles on a daily basis, starting Jan. 16, Gryba provided little explanation. The chair of the board issued a generic statement in the winter that stressed the importance of following rules.

The directive was overturned after community members raised concerns that subjecting Indigenous students and staff members to a daily musical salute to the Crown and, by extension, the fallout of colonialism, would cause unnecessary harm.

Coffey’s affidavit called that resolution “part of a broader pattern of governance failures and jurisdictional overreach by the MVSD board.”

The board has faced significant scrutiny dating back to a public presentation he made in April 2024 during which he decried anti-racism initiatives and spoke positively about residential schools.

“Manitoba teachers know the ugliness of colonization and we know what these antiquated exercises in Manitoba do to students and to members,” said Lillian Klausen, president of the Manitoba Teachers’ Society.

The union, which represents 16,600 public school teachers in the province, is both in support of trustees who want to create safe spaces and the province dismantling the outdated regulation, Klausen said.

One of the defendants told the Free Press the group has been advised by counsel not to speak about the matter publicly.

Alan Campbell, president of the Manitoba School Boards Association, refused to weigh in on a case that is in front of the courts.

The office of Education Minister Tracy Schmidt — who has indicated she has no interest in enforcing the Schools Patriotic Observances Regulation — declined comment for the same reason.

Coffey said in an email Monday that his court application was made in his capacity as a voting member of the division, in accordance with provisions under the Public Schools Act.

As far as Hauseman is concerned, all six of the trustees who are named in his case should be applauded “for their moral courage” in lieu of kowtowing to an archaic policy.

“That’s the last thing we want to see in our elected officials,” said the U of M researcher who studies school governance. “We want to see them stand up for what’s right.”

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 23 at the Dauphin courthouse.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca