Louis Riel trustee suspended for overdue paperwork

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This article was published 19/10/2023 (719 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A St. Boniface trustee is once again on unpaid leave for failing to meet code of conduct standards for elected officials in the Louis Riel School Division.

Francine Champagne, who joined the board in 2022, was placed on unpaid leave Tuesday — six weeks after the end of her last suspension, which was issued over her sensationalist and anti-LGBTTQ+ social media activity.

“It’s very regrettable, but a step the board felt it needed to take,” chairwoman Sandy Nemeth told the Free Press.

During the latest public meeting, Nemeth spoke about her and her colleagues’ obligations to submit paperwork at the start of every school year.

“One of the responsibilities that trustees have on the (LRSD) board is, on an annual basis, to sign a declaration of residency, an annual oath of confidentiality, and also, a code of conduct and conflict of interest and performance declaration,” she said.

“All trustees with the exception of trustee Champagne did so at the beginning of September.”

Citing the overdue submissions, Nemeth read aloud a motion to immediately suspend the Ward 1 official for one month without pay. The item was passed unanimously.

The chairwoman, who is also the board’s Ward 3 representative, told attendees at the hybrid meeting trustees would not entertain any questions on the personnel matter, but she confirmed they discussed it in private prior to the event.

Champagne, who sent her regrets ahead of the meeting, did not vote on the item.

When reached by phone Thursday, she indicated she was unaware of the new disciplinary action and told a reporter to contact her unnamed lawyer before abruptly hanging up.

The rookie trustee faced criticism in the spring for making social media posts that mocked the transgender community and signal-boosted conspiracy theories.

“The sexualization of our children in schools is all part of the agenda (insert angry face emoji),” she wrote in a May 25 post on Facebook.

Champagne was suspended for three months, between June 6 and Sept. 6, in connection to her online activity. She has not participated in any regular meetings since the 2023-24 school year got underway.

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LRSD’s board recognizes the position of school trustee “as one of responsibility and trust, and believes that individuals holding that position must conduct themselves accordingly,” per its code of conduct.

The document states officials are expected to devote time to their duties, protect confidential information, attend regular meetings, treat others respectfully, and refrain from sharing opinions on social media that “discredit, undermine or compromise the integrity of the board.”

Among other requirements, they must live within the educational jurisdiction of the board on which they sit and continually disclose their personal affiliations and financial assets.

Nemeth said the board will consider lifting the suspension if Champagne submits the outstanding documents.

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.