Diversity for all in Seine River

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This article was published 01/12/2023 (642 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A tweaked Respect for Human Diversity policy was unanimously approved by Seine River School Division’s (SRSD) board of trustees Tuesday night.

Superintendent Dr. Ryan Anderson said they got feedback after the policy was first proposed and put forward to the public in late summer.

“We received feedback from several different sources. All of it was fairly consistent, and it was in respect to trying to make the language in the policy more inclusive,” he explained at the meeting in Lorette.

“And so there were two edits that were made to the policy original draft to reflect those recommendations that had come back… And most notably in the second paragraph where it talks about how instead of listing different stakeholders within the Seine River School Division community, it just says everyone feels welcome, accepted, valued and empowered to engage, learn and contribute fully to the benefit of all.”

The former draft listed students, staff and visitors.

The policy said the commitment is based on the Manitoba Human Rights Code, Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Board Chair Wendy Bloomfield called the policy straightforward when it was introduced, with specific procedure rules to enforce it to come.

She said there are no issues in Seine River right now, but there were in other school divisions. Louis Riel and Brandon School Divisions were her examples.

Winnipeg’s Louis Riel division at an online-only meeting in August banned a group of 35 people who disrupted a school board meeting in June. The group showed up to the meeting there in support of trustee Francine Champagne who was suspended two weeks for social media comments deemed disrespectful to the transgender community. Champagne received the maximum three-month suspension at the June meeting after a May 25 post with false information, and Louis Riel also held its September meeting only online.

On Tuesday, Champagne resigned from the board after Louis Riel started the court process to remove her from the board permanently.

“I dread going back to a toxic environment where corruption and perversion are at the core of the agenda,” Champagne said during a recent video meeting organized by Manitoba Stronger Together and recorded and obtained by the Winnipeg Free Press.

“After the bullying I’ve endured, I have zero trust left towards those who abuse their power and betrayed me. However, I’ll continue to pray and ask God for guidance.”

During the call, she alleged LRSD was promoting LGBTQ reading material and education on gender diversity in schools as part of a larger global conspiracy theory that has been debunked. The conspiracy began with the creation of a pandemic, she said.

-With files from Maggie Macintosh, Winnipeg Free Press