Ottawa’s public school trustees met for a mere 10 minutes Tuesday night before opting to uphold their December decision to sanction controversial trustee Nili Kaplan-Myrth for breaching the board’s Code of Conduct.
Their motion to confirm their Dec. 19 ruling on Kaplan-Myrth passed unanimously. The trustee’s three-month ban from sitting on five committees and attending this month’s full board meeting passed 10-1.
Kaplan-Myrth indicated her decision to appeal four days after the ruling and submitted a 16-page appeal document on Jan. 8, prepared by Toronto lawyer Mark Freiman.
In it, Freiman argues that Kaplan-Myrth has been subjected to a different standard than her colleagues, Donna Blackburn, a lesbian, and Donna Dickson, a black woman — also part of the original complaints – and the controversial theory of “intersectionality” was used to her disadvantage.
He says the board “has not taken seriously” her concerns about antisemitism.
He suggests that Kaplan-Myrth’s intentions were considered “less important” than the feelings of others.
“Instead of assuming any responsibility for these matters (the antisemitism) …it (the board) has instead sought to blame her for causing the problems and/or making the board look bad by raising these issues in public.”
Freiman also argues that the idea that Kaplan-Myrth’s statements on social media and to the media created an “intimidating environment” for the board has no basis in fact.
He says the trustee “had every right” to call out colleagues on social media and in the media for not respecting her concerns about the misogynistic, antisemitic hate mail and death threats she’d been receiving – and that is not a violation of the Code of Conduct.
Freiman argues that the board ignores the issue of antisemitism.
He appears to accept Kaplan-Mryth’s contentions that it has been ignored or swept under the rug.
“Antisemitism is not discussed at all in the report as an aspect of the problem under review but rather as somebody else’s responsibility,” he writes.
He says the “penalty is grossly disproportionate” to the crime because Kaplan-Myrth “honestly believed” she was protected by the Charter and making the statements she did “is part of the job description of a board member, as is advocating for unpopular causes.”
It would appear Freiman accepted Kaplan-Myrth at her word and never watched her behaviour in board meetings.
Still the board’s trustees – likely tired of her cries for attention and her antics – weren’t buying it.
I’ve said it before but it bears repeating.
Kaplan-Myrth rarely talked about her Jewish heritage, if at all, before getting into hot water with the board.
As a proud Jew who has battled antisemitism for many years, I resent that she is using that as a cover for her bad behaviour, especially since Oct. 7 as Jew-hatred has risen at horrifying proportions around the world.
She deserved to be silenced, at least temporarily.
Not that it has deterred her from her toxic social media posts.
Within minutes of losing her appeal, she took to X to push her alleged victimization narrative:
