Embattled Winnipeg school trustee suspended for 3rd time after online comment
CBC
A school board in Winnipeg has suspended one of its trustees for the third time in six months.
On Tuesday evening, the Louis Riel School Division's board of trustees voted unanimously to take disciplinary action against Ward 1 trustee Francine Champagne, after an online comment decried as racist was brought to the board's attention.
Chair Sandy Nemeth said the board received an email from a community member about the Facebook comment and asked them to take action.
"We took a look at the language that was used. We took a look at the context and … the manner that it was shared, which was public, and we married that with the requirements that we have for upholding our code of conduct," Nemeth told CBC.
The board felt the comment breached a prohibition in its code of conduct on using "abusive or denigrating language," said Nemeth.
Champagne was invited to discuss the situation at the meeting but declined. She was not in attendance. CBC has also reached out to her for comment but has not had a response.
CBC has viewed the comment, which was made on the page of a Facebook user who posted about eating chicken fried rice at a Chinese restaurant.
Champagne commented, "Flied lice?" with a laughing face emoji on the post.
On Tuesday, the school board unanimously voted in favour of a recommendation that she be suspended for three months without remuneration. That's the maximum suspension possible under the Manitoba Public Schools Act.
This is the third consecutive suspension Champagne has been handed since she was elected to the board in 2022.
The St. Boniface representative is currently under a one-month suspension for failing to submit paperwork. Nemeth said she refused to sign the board's code of conduct, which all members are required to do annually.
That suspension ends on Nov. 16. The latest one begins the following day.
Champagne was also temporarily removed from her role in June, when the board voted unanimously to suspend her for three months over posts that it said "targeted the 2SLGBTQIA+ community."
"She signed the code of conduct when she was first elected. She chose to breach it," Nemeth said.
Eight casinos across southwest B.C. have been sold to First Nations in the last two years, with the province's gambling scene set to be reshaped as a result.
Hamilton hosts the Junos Sunday, and the musical awards show is bringing tourists, musicians, concerts and a ton of themed events to the city this week.
The multi-million-dollar deal at the heart of a high-profile fight between the Canadian government and one of the world’s biggest carmakers contains multiple clauses about the company’s footprint in Ontario, according to a copy obtained by CBC Windsor.
In recent months, Calgary police have carried out three day-long safety blitzes, parading out dozens of officers to flood an area with their increased presence — at least, temporarily.
A national organization is seeking people with experience in Canada's forestry sector as they put together a working group that will examine ways to improve forest recovery following wildfires.
Ella Heyder is bracing for a breakup, even though she already moved out decades ago.
Shawne Hopkins never saw it coming.
Politicians return to Queen’s Park Monday for a shortened spring session, as Premier Doug Ford prepares to unveil his eight budget amid heightened global economic uncertainty.
Despite a recent announcement that a water supply pipeline will be build in Oneida Nation of the Thames, some members of the community say that's no excuse for taking water for granted.
As scandal has swirled around former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, questions and curiosity have also focused on his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, and their daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.
Friday may have been the first day of spring, but winter storms are not over yet for Newfoundland.
While we officially welcomed spring last week, an incoming system will be a reminder that snow is still very much part of the new season, especially early on.
The future of a national historic site in Fredericton is up for discussion at meetings across New Brunswick in the next few weeks as the Anglican diocese considers what to do about costly repairs needed at Christ Church Cathedral.