HomeMy WebLinkAbout9.3 Post-Meeting Minutes - Special Board Meeting_Sep11_2023 - English
SPECIAL BOARD PUBLIC MINUTES
Monday, September 11, 2023
Board Room
Administration Building
133 Greenbank Road
Ottawa, Ontario
Trustees Present:
Alysha Aziz, Justine Bell (electronic communication), Donna Blackburn, Donna Dickson, Lyra Evans, Jennifer Jennekens, Nili Kaplan-Myrth, Matthew Lee (electronic communication), Cathryne
Milburn, Suzanne Nash, Amanda Presley, Lynn Scott
Staff Present:
Pino Buffone (Director of Education), Brett Reynolds (Associate Director of Education), Randy Gerrior (Associate Director, Business Operations), Michele Giroux (Executive Officer, Corporate
Services), James Proulx (Executive Officer, Information Technology and Digital Transformation), Richard Sinclair (General Counsel), Diane Pernari (General Manager of Communications &
Information Services), Nicole Guthrie (General Manager, Board Services), Michael Guilbault (Content Creator, Digital Multimedia Technician), Mellissa Applewaithe (Board/Committee Coordinator)
Guests Present:
Michael Maynard (ADR Chambers)
1.Call to Order -- Chair of the Board
Chair Lyra Evans called the public meeting to order at 7:30 p.m.
2.Acknowledgement of Territorial Lands
Chair Lyra Evans acknowledged that the meeting is taking place on unceded Algonquin Homelands and thanked the Algonquin Nations for hosting the meeting on their land.
3.Report from In Camera Session
Vice-Chair Scott reported that the board met in camera earlier this evening and reports and recommends as follows:
Moved by
Cathryne Milburn
Seconded by
Lynn Scott
THAT the Board authorize the release of the legal opinion provided by Aird & Berlis as well as the response provided by the legal counsel for Trustee Kaplan-Myrth.
For (11): Alysha Aziz, Justine Bell, Donna Blackburn, Donna Dickson, Lyra Evans, Jennifer Jennekens, Matthew Lee, Cathryne Milburn, Suzanne Nash, Amanda Presley, and Lynn Scott
Carried (11 to 0)
4.Declarations of Interest
No declarations of interest were filed.
5.Approval of the Agenda
Moved by Trustee Jennekens, seconded by Trustee Dickson,
THAT the agenda be approved.
Carried
6.Presentation of Report by ADR Chambers
Chair Lyra Evans advised the Board that they are required to determine:
Whether a breach of the Code of Conduct occurred; and
The appropriate sanction(s) that should be applied if it is determined that a breach occurred.
General Counsel Sinclair noted that Mr. Maynard, an experienced lawyer and Integrity Commissioner from ADR Chambers had been retained by the Board to prepare an investigative report
in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Conduct in place at that time.
Mr. Maynard provided an overview of the Investigative Report.
During discussion and in response to queries, the following points were noted:
The investigation commenced in March 2023 and concluded in May 2023;
The report is structured to provide context and background and contains an analysis with factual findings that were limited by the mandate of the Code of Conduct. It does not provide
a legal opinion; and
It was noted that Mr. Maynard had not spent time or resources to seek clarity on whether the integrity officer/advisor retained earlier in the matter had sought an informal resolution,
as he had felt that would be beyond the scope of his role.
7.Matters for Action
7.1Report 23-056, Determination of Possible Breach (M. Giroux)
Your committee had before it Report 23-056 seeking the Determination of a Possible Breach of the Code of Conduct.
General Counsel Sinclair reminded the Board that the ADR Chambers report that was commissioned at the request of the Chair of the Board, sets out the facts of the complaint, which the
trustees should solely rely on to reach a decision.
Moved by Trustee Blackburn, seconded by Trustee Dickson,
THAT Trustee Kaplan-Myrth has breached Sections 3.17 and 3.18 of Policy P.073, Board Member Code of Conduct, dated April 26, 2016 (the applicable policy) in relation to text messages
sent by her in November of 2022.
During discussion and in response to queries, the following points were noted:
The complaint was filed within the timelines prescribed under the Code of Conduct regulations at the time;
Trustee Dickson provided an overview of her perspective on the events; and
Board members agreed that the facts provided in the report demonstrated that the comments made had been inappropriate and that it is incumbent on trustees to set the bar for expectations
regarding civil discourse.
***The meeting went into recess at 8:23 p.m.***
***The meeting resumed at 8:33 p.m.***
Trustee Blackburn called a point of privilege to request an apology from Trustee Kaplan-Myrth for a comment made earlier. Trustee Kaplan-Myrth denied the request.
Moved by
Donna Blackburn
Seconded by
Donna Dickson
Upon review of the facts as documented in the final report prepared by Michael Maynard, ADR Chambers, dated 29 May 2023 regarding a Code of Conduct complaint filed by Trustee Dickson
in relation to Trustee Kaplan-Myrth, the Board finds:
THAT Trustee Kaplan-Myrth has breached Sections 3.17 and 3.18 of Policy P.073, Board Member Code of Conduct, dated April 26, 2016 (the applicable policy) in relation to text messages
sent by her in November of 2022.
For (7): Donna Blackburn, Donna Dickson, Jennifer Jennekens, Matthew Lee, Cathryne Milburn, Suzanne Nash, and Lynn Scott
Abstain (4): Alysha Aziz, Justine Bell, Lyra Evans, and Amanda Presley
Defeated (7 to 0)
7.2Report 23-057, Possible Application of Breach Sanctions (M. Giroux)
The motion to determine a possible breach of the Code of Conduct was defeated, therefore the possible application of sanctions did not apply.
8.Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 8:36 p.m.
Lyra Evans, Chair of the Board