Ottawa school trustee Nili Kaplan-Myrth, who was sanctioned Tuesday following a second code of conduct complaint, is asking Ontario’s education minister to ban the board from being able to take further disciplinary actions against her.
The controversial trustee is also demanding a “leave of absence” from the Ottawa Carleton District School Board, and says she has no regrets in regards to her behaviour.
As reported by CTV News, Kaplan-Myrth sent a letter to board chair Lynn Scott, school board director Pino Buffone and Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce requesting a leave Wednesday, amid her saying that she has been the victim of “persistent” antisemitism as well as “reprisals.”
Kaplan-Myrth wants Lecce to temporarily prohibit the board from being able to take disciplinary actions against her, and wants him to launch an investigation into the “weaponization” of the code of conduct complaint process.
“I ask that the Hon. Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education, intervene to put a moratorium on any further reprisals of me by the OCDSB for speaking out against antisemitism, and I ask that the Ministry of Education undertake an audit of the OCDSB’s weaponization of the Code of Conduct process to silence equity-seeking groups.”
It is unclear if Kaplan-Myrth can obtain a leave of absence.
According to the Ontario Education Act, trustees cannot miss more than three consecutive meetings without special permission. If a trustee fails to adhere to this requirement, the seat is vacated, the act says.
In a statement, the Ottawa school board acknowledged the limited provisions in the act.
“We will explore the provisions with the Board of Trustees to determine the feasibility of this request. An important part of this consideration will be ensuring that the needs of students and families continue to be served,” the statement said.
“At this time, we would like to reassure the community that all trustees are available to provide support to students and families, regardless of electoral zone.”
Lecce said he expects trustees to uphold professional conduct while also remaining focused on serving students and parents.
“Too often this is not the experience of parents, which is why Ontario recently imposed enhanced accountability and transparency measures on school boards,” he said. “Our government is taking action to ensure trustees are focused on what actually matters most — the academic success and well-being of students.”
As previously reported by True North’s Sue-Ann Levy, Kaplan-Myrth was sanctioned Tuesday evening at a special meeting after the board unanimously declared that she breached the trustee code of conduct.
The behaviour behind the code of conduct breach stemmed from a special Sept. 11 meeting called to discuss another code of conduct complaint levelled against Kaplan-Myrth. That first complaint was launched after she told fellow trustee Donna Dickson, who is black, that she would be siding with white supremacists if she were to vote against her infamous mask mandate motion.
At the Sept. 11 special meeting, Kaplan-Myrth interrupted her colleague Donna Blackburn after she said that Dickson, a black woman, had been attacked by Kaplan-Myrth, whom Blackburn called a white woman.
“Sorry I’m going to object, I’m a Jewish woman,” shouted Kaplan-Myrth, who then told Blackburn, “You have been out to get me from day one.”
The interruption was one of multiple beaches highlighted in a 188 page integrity report.
The report also said that Kaplan-Myrth’s interactions with the media following the Sept. 11 meeting also violated the code of conduct.
In an interview with CTV News, Kaplan-Myrth said had no regrets in regards to her behaviour.
“I do not regret that I stood up, as a physician, for the health and safety of the population. I have absolutely no regrets about the work that I have done,” she said.
“What I regret is that I trusted my colleagues. I regret that I stepped forward into this position. I accepted that the public wanted me to do this and I stepped forward to do it, not realizing that I would then be the subject of so much hate, so much vitriol and targeted attacks.”
She has filed a human rights complaint against the school board, seeking $50,000 in compensation.
It has been a tough year for the militant pro-mask doctor-turned-trustee.
In addition to facing two code of conduct complaints, Kaplan-Myrth has made headlines for shutting down a father concerned about gender ideology, and subsequently successfully lobbying petition website change.org to take down two community petitions requesting her resignation.
She has also counter protested Muslim and Christian parents opposed to gender ideology alongside Antifa, and has called for a ban on anti-gender ideology protests near schools, to the demise of several Ottawa parents.
Kaplan-Myrth did not return a request for comment in time for publication.
