The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) formally disciplined Barrhaven/Knoxdale-Merivale trustee Donna Blackburn Monday for making "racially insensitive" remarks to a Black teenager while confronting him for not abiding by physical distancing rules earlier this year. Trustees said Blackburn's behaviour had severely damaged trust with the OCDSB community, especially with those from the Black community. Blackburn sat through the entire meeting but could not participate in the debate because of board rules. She presented a motion calling on the Ontario Public School Board Association, which represents public school boards, to advocate for expanded authority to address inappropriate behaviour by trustees. The motion, which passed, says a review of the effectiveness of school boards' code of conduct policies could produce useful suggestions for improvements to provincial law.

Source: CBC News June 30, 2020 11:37 UTC