OCDSB Trustee Dr. Nili Kaplan-Myrth sanctioned for code of conduct violations

Ottawa-Carleton District School Board trustees have voted to declare that Trustee Dr. Nili Kaplan-Myrth violated the board's code of conduct and voted to impose sanctions.

The vote to declare Kaplan-Myrth violated the code of conduct passed unanimously. 

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The breaches of the code related to outbursts and social media posts surrounding a special board meeting on Sept. 11, during which Kaplan-Myrth was facing a different code of conduct complaint, a vote on which failed because two-thirds of trustees did not support it. 

The complaints against Kaplan-Myrth were detailed in a lengthy integrity commissioner's report, which found Kaplan-Myrth's actions breached the code of conduct and undermined public confidence in the school board.

Trustees voted 10-1 to sanction Kaplan-Myrth by barring her from attending the regular board meeting on Jan. 30, 2024 and by barring her from sitting on five committees for a period of three months, from Jan. 1 to March 30, 2024. Those committees are Committee of the Whole, Committee of the Whole Budget, Ad Hoc Policy Review Committee, Advocacy Strategy Committee, and Advisory Committee on Equity.

The original motion called for barring Kaplan-Myrth from sitting on the committees for six months, but Trustee Lyra Evans argued that instituting the maximum penalty for a first offence would leave the board with nowhere to go should another breach occur.

Trustee Justine Bell was the only trustee to vote against sanctions, saying at the meeting that Kaplan-Myrth has endured trauma related to threats of violence and antisemitism.

"Trustee Kaplan-Myrth has been living with traumatic experiences for months upon months, and that would no doubt alter your state and your ability," she said.

Kaplan-Myrth has been the target of numerous antisemitic and violent threats, some of which have led to criminal charges.

In written statement to CTV News Ottawa Tuesday, Kaplan-Myrth said, "I have stood my ground, advocated as my constituents asked, unmuted myself when faced with overt antisemitism, spoken truthfully about the silence/reprisals of the Board in response to discrimination, and challenged the longstanding toxicity within the Board." 

Kaplan-Myrth has filed a human rights complaint against the OCDSB, alleging that she has been subjected to antisemitic treatment online and in-person because of her role as an advocate for LGBTQIA+ rights and public health policies, including mask mandates, which has attracted protests at board meetings.

She condemned the vote on social media Tuesday evening.

"Capitulating to the very people — convoy adjacent anti-vaxxers and white supremacists — who have harassed me for a year and called for my resignation," she wrote.