A divisional court has dismissed a challenge from a Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board trustee, who was disciplined for violating the board’s code of conduct.
CLICK HERE for our coverage of the court hearing from February.
The Board of Trustees for HPEDSB, on two separate occasions, ruled North Prince Edward Trustee Rachael Prinzen breached the code, when she shared confidential board documents with the Ministry of Education, along with several MPP’s, raising concerns about board operations.
Two Integrity Commissioner investigations took place and the Board of Trustees ruled Prinzen breached confidentiality.
She was barred from attending meetings/committee meetings of the board for 90-days, each time.
Prinzen expressed several concerns over how the board was operating and she told the court her concerns were not being addressed, which was why she went to the ministry.
Prinzen had asked the court to overturn the board’s decision, arguing the investigation and rulings were unfair and that the sanctions infringed on her rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The trustee also alleged a coordinated effort to silence her.
Justice Andras Schreck, Justice Nancy Backhouse and Justice John Frégeau found the following in their ruling
- No breach of procedural fairness
- No reasonable apprehension of bias and/or bad faith
- No breach of the Charter of Rights
- The decisions of the board were reasonable
The judges did reduce the penalty(s) against Prinzen.
She had originally been barred from attending board and committee meetings for 180 days total.
The court ruled the 38 days already served would count as the full penalty.
Prinzen has been ordered to pay $7,500 in legal costs to HPEDSB.
We have reached out to Trustee Prinzen and Board Chair Kari Kramp for comment.
