LRSD moves trustee meeting online to ‘de-escalate tension’

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This article was published 30/08/2023 (756 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Louis Riel School Division is moving its inaugural board meeting of 2023-24 online in anticipation of conflict between two protests — one of which will demand trustees “stop promoting sexual orientation and gender ideology.”

“We do not discourage anyone from protesting, and hope that all involved do so safely, peacefully and respectfully,” superintendent Christian Michalik and Sandy Nemeth, chairwoman of the board of trustees, said in a joint statement sent to community members Tuesday.

At the same time, the notice announced the board’s decision to host a virtual public meeting Sept. 5 “in an attempt to do our part to de-escalate tension.”

Since the last of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions were lifted, trustees have been inviting members of the public to pre-register to attend any of their meetings in-person or via Microsoft Teams.

Trustees recently relocated the bimonthly events from LRSD’s St. Vital headquarters (900 St Mary’s Rd.) to a Windsor Park boardroom (50 Monterey Rd.) to support the hybrid delivery model.

During the last meeting (June 20), a group of supporters of St. Boniface representative Francine Champagne — who was suspended in connection to making anti-LGBTTQ+ posts and signal-boosting conspiracy theories on social media — showed up unannounced to demand answers about the penalty.

Many of the attendees, including a number of self-described “freedom fighters” who live outside the district in southeast Winnipeg, announced they would be back to defend the rookie trustee in the fall.

The board unanimously voted to suspend the Ward 1 official June 5, citing division policy breaches related to respecting human diversity and social media usage.

Champagne’s three-month penalty, sans pay, ends Sept. 6.

As back-to-school season gets underway, Action4Canada slips have been dropped off at residences in LRSD to encourage parents and citizens to show up to the upcoming meeting and raise concerns about schools promoting homosexuality and transgender ideology.

The national group organizes letter-writing campaigns, petitions, and, per its website, seeks to “make Canada great again.” In recent months, its members have advocated for increased parental rights and banning drag queen story time events.

Kay Wojnarski, a local teacher who supervises her high school’s gender-sexuality alliance, is organizing a simultaneous anti-hate rally at LRSD headquarters shortly before the meeting is scheduled to start.

Wojnarski said she wanted to take action after hearing about what happened at the last event.

Police attended the meeting venue in the spring, after receiving multiple calls about attendees’ aggressive behaviour.

LRSD trustee Ryan Palmquist, who recently came out as bisexual, reported being subject to homophobic slurs before he excused himself from the formal proceedings.

In their latest letter, Michalik and Nemeth said LRSD has issued ‘no trespassing’ letters to individuals who caused and partook in the June disturbance, during which they said homophobic, transphobic, and racist remarks were made.

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It also reiterates the board’s “resolve” to ensure people cannot use the meetings as platforms “to attack the (LGBTTQ+) community, spread baseless fears about curricula, policies, and practices, defame and harass staff, or promote hate.”

Karl Krebs and Patrick Allard, both of whom gained notoriety for opposing COVID-19 mandates during the pandemic and attended the spring event, have dismissed claims they or any of Champagne’s supporters made hateful comments.

The school board chairwoman, vice-chairman, secretary-treasurer and superintendent are gathering in-person at 900 St. Mary’s Rd. to facilitate the virtual Sept. 5 meeting. Other trustees and members of the public will be able to join online.

Trustees are anticipated to discuss revisions to procedural bylaws related to public participation in future meetings.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

Maggie Macintosh
Education reporter

Maggie Macintosh reports on education for the Free Press. Originally from Hamilton, Ont., she first reported for the Free Press in 2017. Read more about Maggie.

Funding for the Free Press education reporter comes from the Government of Canada through the Local Journalism Initiative.

Every piece of reporting Maggie produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.