Seine River School Division’s U.S. travel ban to remain

Seine River School Division will continue its U.S. travel ban for divisional staff and students.

The ban, first put in place on March 11, 2025, was brought forward for trustees to revisit during Tuesday night’s board meeting following the administration receiving requests from multiple teachers and staff to attend training opportunities across the border.

Trustee Gary Nelson told the board he has no interest in changing the policy.

“I think things are more difficult now than they were a year ago,” he said Tuesday night.

“Certainly adults can make the decision whether to travel down to the U.S. for education, but if it involves the division participating in that or funding a portion of that, from my perspective it needs to remain in place.”

Trustee Marinus Van Osch echoed Nelson’s concerns and said the political unrest in the U.S. has reinforced the need to not have staff and students travel there. He said he has a “hard time” reconciling spending public dollars in the U.S. under its current administration.

“If anything, the atmosphere is worse and more authoritarian, and more of being told what you have to say,” he said. “Frankly, I don’t want our people anywhere near that.”

Colin Campbell, the division’s superintendent, said the initial ban was put in place to keep students and staff safe.

“There were different requirements for certain individuals when crossing the border, and we didn’t want to expose our students to that,” he said.

Prior to the ban, staff would attend professional development courses or conferences throughout the U.S. Students would travel for band trips, with Minneapolis, M.N. being a previous destination.

Campbell said administration has worked to find band competitions and training opportunities in Canada to avoid travelling south.

“We’ve decided to keep the status quo for now, which is fine,” Campbell said. “We will continue to find Canadian alternatives, which are fantastic as well.”