Chair shuts down trustee's attempt to back banned couple

At the board's Sept. 23 public meeting, trustee Robert Kirwan — who is leaving the board to seek the Ward 5 seat in the local municipal election — brought up the situation.

He said because the trespass order remains in effect, it could give incumbent trustees an advantage in the election, as it potentially would prevent the Gibsons from taking part in all-candidates debates on board property.

The Gibsons told NorthernLife.ca that they recently received a letter from director of education Norm Blaseg saying the ban would not be applied to any all-candidates trustees meetings on board property.

But in Kirwan's opinion having a trespass order against them is a “black mark” on their reputation, something that might hurt their chances at the polls.

“We have an obligation to make sure the elections ... are conducted fairly,” Kirwan said, at the Sept. 23 meeting.

“We have to make sure we're impartial as a board. I feel that we have a situation with a couple of trustee candidates that have registered to run against incumbents who are currently being disadvantaged because of a notice of trespass that has been issued.”

At this point, Dewar stopped Kirwan, and asked that the meeting go in camera.

“We are recessing,” she said. “I will ask spectators to leave, please.”

Although he hasn't discussed the specifics of the ban, Blaseg told NorthernLife.ca recently that trespass orders are issued when an individual's presence on board property is “detrimental to the safety or well-being of others.”

When presented with a hypothetical scenario of an elected trustee under a trespass order, Blaseg said Rainbow would have to “revisit” the circumstances that led to the individual being banned.

“Every scenario has a context,” he said. “I would have to take a look at all of the contextual pieces.”

Anita said she's still not totally sure why she and her husband were issued a trespass order, or why it's still in effect, despite asking for it to be removed multiple times.

To shed some light on the situation, the couple put in a Freedom of Information Act request for documentation surrounding their banning.

In response, they received several emails indicating the trespass order is related to what appears to be a seemingly mild interaction between Anita and trustee Tyler Campbell after a meeting in September 2012.

In a conversation after that meeting, Anita said Campbell insisted she share with him an “off-the-cuff” remark she'd privately made to her husband during the meeting. Anita said her comment concerned what she saw as the board's lack of empathy.

“I did not wish to share that comment with Tyler Campbell, but he was very persistent,” she said.

Anita eventually did share what she'd said, and then brought up other aspects of board business. “The entire encounter was a few minutes long,” she said, adding she doesn't think it warranted the board's reaction.

The couple said they have a genuine interest in becoming trustees. They're both active volunteers at Algonquin — Anita is the school council's current chair, and Dylan is the past chair.

If elected, the Gibsons said they'll focus on improving education, not to mention the board's transparency.

“Our personal experiences with the board over the last five years have certainly contributed to our eagerness to bring change,” Anita said. “I mean we can't deny that ... But it's certainly not the only issue.”