Hearing Set for Red Deer Catholic School Trustee Disqualified Over Social Media Posts

Alberta Catholic school trustee Monique LaGrange was sanctioned for a social media post. https://www.rdcrs.ca/board/board-of-trustees

A May court hearing has been set for an Alberta Catholic school board trustee challenging her forced resignation over social media posts criticizing gender ideology.

Monique LaGrange was disqualified by the Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools (RDCRS) in November 2023 for not adhering to sanctions issued to her over her social media posts.

The sanctions, issued on Sept. 26, 2023, included sensitivity training, a ban on making public statements or speaking with the media, and a prohibition on representing the board in an official capacity.

Before the sanctions were issued, Ms. LaGrange had been interviewed twice by media outlets for stories that were not published until after Sept. 26, which led to the board claiming Ms. LaGrange violated the sanctions.

“As the Chair of the RDCRS Board of Trustees, I affirm our unwavering dedication to fostering a safe, secure, caring, respectful and inclusive learning environment for our students, staff and community members,” a Nov. 14, 2023 statement from board chair Murray Hollman said. “Regrettably, as a result of Trustee LaGrange’s violation of the sanctions placed on her on September 26, 2023, as well as her additional violations of Board Policy and the Education Act, the Board made the challenging decision to disqualify Trustee LaGrange.”

Ms. LaGrange’s lawyer, James Kitchen, filed for two judicial reviews of the RDCRS actions, saying the decisions were invalid and improper.

One of the social media posts that sparked the sanctions included an image of school children waving pride flags next to a photo of school children waving swastika flags. Ms. LaGrange wrote ‘Brainwashing is brainwashing’ on the Aug. 27 Facebook post.

“The Applicant considered the post to succinctly address an issue troubling to the Applicant, both politically and spiritually,” Mr. Kitchen wrote in his legal brief. “That it amounts to brainwashing to have young children waving flags that represent a complex ideology they cannot yet understand and with which they may or may not agree once they are able to understand.”

He said that Ms. LaGrange received comments that were in support of her position and that the board received messages from people who did not.

On Sept. 5, 2023 the board decided to write Alberta’s education minister to have Ms. LaGrange removed as a trustee. The letter was written on Sept. 7, a day after a “conciliatory” meeting was held where the board gave her an opportunity to apologize. Ms. LaGrange did not, believing she had done nothing wrong in putting up the post.

Mr. Kitchen argues that the board’s actions, including passing judgment before a hearing was held, did not conform to its own code of conduct.

“The Board committed an incurable procedural error and its decision must be quashed on this basis alone,” the document says.

Additionally, Mr. Kitchen said the board demonstrated bias by prejudgment of Ms. LaGrange.

“Despite the Board’s bald pronouncement that it had an open mind, the factual reality is the Board was prepared to, and voted to, exact the most severe sanction in the absence of either a complaint or a hearing,” he wrote.

The document also noted that Ms. LaGrange was a trustee in a school division that was dedicated to Roman Catholic values.

“Pretending the applicant has invented an interpretation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church untethered to an objective understanding of what it says and what it means is disingenuous. The Catechism could not possibly be clearer,” the document said.

The Epoch Times reached out to the board but did not hear back by publication time.

Ms. LaGrange is seeking to quash the decision and be reinstated.

The hearings on both applications will be on May 1-3 and can be watched online through The Democracy Fund website.