Ontario’s Ombudsman has again sided with the Greater Essex County District School Board (GECDSB) over actions in the face of “safety concerns.”
Board members shuffled out of a June 25 meeting after Windsor police officers were called due to numerous disruptions.
Despite an officer indicating the meeting had ended, trustees resumed talks in a separate room.
“I am satisfied that the reconvened meeting held by the school board on June 25, 2024, complied with the open meeting requirements set out in the Education Act, and that the school board acted reasonably in exceptional circumstances,” Paul Dube, the Ombudsman of Ontario, wrote in the report presented at a GECDSB meeting on Tuesday night.
At the time of the disruptions, the board was deliberating over sanctions against Trustee Linda Qin.
Fellow trustees had submitted complaints against Qin in spring 2023, alleging bias, procedural violations, disrespectful behaviour, and breaches of conduct rules.
“As a final warning, the chair cautioned the gallery that if there was another disruption, the attendees would be asked to leave,” Dube wrote. “Despite these warnings, the disruptions continued to escalate... In response, the chair called a recess. The chair did not state whether the meeting was adjourned, cancelled, or would be rescheduled.”
According to the report, trustees and staff moved to a committee room, where they reconvened without a formal announcement the location of the meeting had changed.
Dube noted his office was advised members of the public could still access the new meeting location.
“While the room change was not officially announced, evidence suggests that those in attendance would have likely been aware of the change in meeting location, and some even chose to listen in on the further proceedings,” Dube stated. “Furthermore, the school board encountered exceptional circumstances, based on safety concerns, that may have affected its ability to provide official notice of the change in location.”
Qin later noted she remained in the boardroom with her supporters when the trustees resumed.
In her first board meeting since the sanctions, Qin noted the details in the report did not align with her memory of the events.
“Yeah,” Qin quickly responded when asked if she was questioning the Ombudsman. “I don’t know to which fact that [the committee room] is accessible,” Qin said. “The report is not based on the fact.”
GECDSB Chairperson Gale Hatfield told Qin they could not respond to the Ombudsman’s report.
According to Dube, the Ombudsman’s office spoke with the director of education, the chair of the school board, and the executive assistant to the director of education. Additionally, they reviewed the meeting agenda, minutes, audio, and media reports.
As part of his findings, Dube noted the board may want to “expand its safety protocol to provide further instruction for exceptional circumstances” in an effort to be more transparent and accountable.
In the aftermath of the disrupted meeting, Dube wrote, police escorted staff and several trustees to their cars.
“My office was told that one trustee arrived at their vehicle to find multiple attendees waiting, attempting to confront them.”
In 2023, the Ombudsman ruled in favour of the GECDSB after it barred public attendance at multiple meetings due to safety concerns.
As a result, they established a Board Meeting Safety Protocol in the event of disruptions.
On Tuesday, trustee Julia Burgess asked when they would consider the added safety protocols.
“The latest concern I had was on Dec. 17, when I was given a notice that there was possibly a disruption requiring extra security at an event, so this is an ongoing thing for me,” Burgess said.
Hatfield noted they would revisit the matter as part of the next steps.
CTV News made multiple requests for an interview with Hatfield to discuss the Ombudsman’s report, but those requests were declined.
