(rdnewsNOW file photo)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

"go for it"

Red Deer Catholic trustee invoked Holy Spirit in explanation for posting controversial meme

Oct 17, 2023 | 5:16 PM

Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools (RDCRS) has released a document outlining its reasoning for a list of punitive measures against a trustee who shared a controversial meme on social media.

The document also sheds light on the trustee’s rationale for posting the meme, which many say directly likened 2SLGBTQ+ children with Pride flags to kids waving Nazi flags during WWII.

RDCRS informed Trustee Monique LaGrange of the board’s reasoning, in writing, Oct. 13. Her legal counsel then requested RDCRS make the document public, which it did late on Oct. 16.

Sept. 26, the board voted not to remove Lagrange as trustee, as they are able under the Education Act. Instead, they imposed sanctions against her, including that she issue a public apology and undergo sensitivity training with 90 days.

Her lawyer told rdnewsNOW days later that LaGrange doesn’t intend to apologize because it would be disingenuous.

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Among many other things revealed in the document, Red Deer Catholic is clarifying, for LaGrange, what they’re requiring she apologize for.

“The trustee is being asked to recognize that her communication in relation to the meme was not in accordance with board policy and to recognize that members of the school division found it offensive and experienced hurt feelings. This, in the board’s view, does not offend the trustee’s sincerely held beliefs.”

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The report further concludes that LaGrange’s actions breached clauses 1, 6.2, 6.4 and 6.18 of Board Policy 3 (Trustee Role Description) and clauses 1, 6, 10 and 22 of Board Policy 4 (Trustee Code of Conduct).

And it concludes that sanctions outlined Sept. 26 are appropriate, despite LaGrange’s arguments to the contrary.

“Do it, go for it,” the Holy Spirit told LaGrange, something the report notes the trustee shared with the board about her decision to post the meme.

LaGrange also explained she thought the meme was a good outline for what’s going on in the world.

Legal counsel for LaGrange asserted that her actions didn’t contravene the Code of Conduct or any board policy, not to mention the Education Act, adding that the meme was protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The report explains the board declined to consider the constitutionality of their sanctions, because that would only apply, they say, if they’d utilized the Education Act to oust her, which they didn’t.

Legal counsel went on to say the board’s conduct demonstrates a reasonable apprehension of bias and a lack of procedural fairness.

“The board does not dispute that the trustee has sincerely held religious beliefs. However, the primary concern before the board was whether the trustee, through her post, breached the Code of Conduct,” reads an excerpt from the report.

It continues: “The Trustee’s argument focused, to a large extent, on her freedom to hold her beliefs and her ability to act on the same in her private life (i.e., to post the meme). However, freedom of expression generally, including that of a school board trustee, is not absolute.”

It elaborates, noting that clause 6.4 of Board Policy 3 addresses social media use, as worded below:

Trustees will be cognizant that they are representing the interests of the board while posting or commenting on social media, and aware of public perception that their posts, comments and social media engagement, are in accordance with their duties within the school division.

“The trustee’s freedom to express her views (via the meme) must be balanced against the board’s duty and right to operate in the context of, and in a manner consistent with, the preservation and enhancement of the board’s mandate. This includes the board’s duty to comply with the Education Act and to maintain a positive school environment,” the report states.

“While the trustee may hold religious beliefs, in her role as a school board trustee, the trustee’s actions may not unreasonably impinge upon the board’s statutory mandate to ensure that each student enrolled in its schools and each staff member employed by the board is provided with a welcoming, caring, respectful and safe learning environment that respects diversity and fosters a sense of belonging.”

LaGrange went on to argue that a trustee cannot be responsible for all reactions to a social media post, especially when such reactions ‘unreasonably take offence based on unreasonable interpretations.’ She also argued that someone being offended by a post is not basis to institute discipline, characterizing the situation as ‘cancel culture.’

The report notes LaGrange’s arguments included saying that ‘No reasonable person would conclude from the meme, that what the Nazis did was acceptable or that had anything to do with the LGBTQ (sic) community, and that rather, the meme is about ideas which must always be open to criticism, tested and challenged.’

The board of trustees received a letter from the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center on Sept. 6, a few days after the post was made.

The letter stated that the post was, “a form of Holocaust distortion and minimization and feeds into rhetoric promoting anti-LGBTQ+ hate and discrimination. What makes this post even more abhorrent is the fact that tens of thousands of victims of the Nazis were people who identified as part of the LGBTQ+ community.”

LaGrange indicated that the author of the letter simply didn’t understand her post, saying it was about ‘layers of ideology, and about protecting kids.’

The board did not accept LaGrange’s submission that the meme was ‘clearly unrelated to Nazism,’ adding that, ‘a reasonable person viewing two photographs (one over the other) could reasonably conclude that a negative comparison was being made.’

“The board disagrees with the trustee’s submission that there is no lack of decorum in the post or that the same does not show disrespect for others,” it’s written. “In this case, the trustee placed her personal interests ahead of her public duty to carry out her duties in a dignified, ethical and professional manner, and to represent the board with proper decorum.”

Addressing the allegation of procedural unfairness, the board acknowledges there was a motion passed to ask the Education Minister to dismiss LaGrange, which was based on a misunderstanding of the board that they could not do it themselves.

LaGrange had asked for a stay of proceedings based on her arguments but that request was dismissed.

The Code of Conduct complaint was then filed, and, “each board member hearing this matter conducted a serious and self-reflective assessment of its ability to hear the matter impartially and without bias.”

The report can be read in full below:

While LaGrange still has about 70 days to make her apology, the superintendent was also required to arrange, by the 20-day mark, group sessions for the board to hear from the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the Alberta Human Rights Commission. These requirements have been fulfilled, a division spokesperson confirms.

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