WSD may cut ‘negative’ parts from meeting tapes

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This article was published 08/04/2016 (3447 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The newly transparent and open-door Winnipeg School Division board could soon give itself the right to delete anything it deems negative from taped public sessions.

A report to be presented to the board Monday night says the policy/program committee’s ongoing development of a wide-ranging social media program could give trustees the right to wipe from the archived tapes of livestreamed public sessions anything it deems negative to the reputation of the division, schools, employees, or trustees.

The report says: “It should be stated that the Winnipeg School Division reserves the right to restrict or remove any content that is deemed in violation of the provisions of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. Therefore, any reference or comments that would reflect negatively on a school or WSD’s reputation or the reputation of any person employed with or holding elected office with WSD will be edited from the live streamed archived files maintained on the division’s website. The audio/video recording is not the official public record of the meeting, rather the meeting minutes as approved by the board are the official public record.”

The report does not define “negatively” or define what kind of comment about a person or institution’s reputation would be so damaging that it would be beyond fair comment and deemed in violation of FIPPA.

Neither board chair Mark Wasyliw or committee chair Lisa Naylor was immediately available Friday.

The school board has touted its greater openness after the scathing John Wiens report had found the WSD board to be reckless, dysfunctional, and out of control.

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Trustees remain under a threat of being fired June 30 unless they meet the province’s standards of good governance, although it is not clear what would happen to that threat under a Conservative or Liberal government.

nick.martin@freepress.mb.ca