A member of an Ontario Catholic school board who said that the white Christian man is the “most dangerous creature on the planet,” has apologized for the offending tweet.
In a statement posted to the website of the Waterloo Catholic District School Board, trustee Wendy Ashby said she was sorry for the offending statements and for the way it affected her colleagues on the board.
“Conversations about inequality are often uncomfortable. As a Métis woman and in my professional role, I encounter these discussions regularly and part of these discussions is to challenge our existing systems,” Ashby wrote.
In a separate statement, the board distanced themselves from Ashby’s comments, and said it was “doing its due diligence” in response to community concerns.
“Whenever there are allegations of a breach in the code of conduct, the Board follows up with a review into those allegations,” the board said in a statement that also denounced Ashby’s social media posts.
“The Board of Trustees of the Waterloo Catholic District School Board does not support statements made by Trustee Wendy Ashby.”
A second tweet from Ashby, which has also engendered controversy, said, “White women make obedient soldiers for the christofacist patriarchy.”
Ashby has since shut down her Twitter account.
Her tweets were the subject of an apparently raucous board meeting on April 24, when trustees were met with a number of protesters who arrived in a show of force organized, at least in part, by Campaign Life Coalition, a right-wing group that lobbies for various socially conservative causes.
While full video of the meeting does not appear online, there is footage of David Menzies, a Rebel Media personality who goes by the nom de plume The Menzoid, asking the board whether they condemn Ashby’s views. The video, nearly three minutes long, was posted to social media by Campaign Life Coalition.
“Please sit down, sir,” says a board member, while Menzies continues to shout.
“Do you approve or condemn this racist, sexist, anti-Christian statement? Yes or no,” asks Menzies.
The crowd explodes into applause and cheers, presumably, in support of Menzies. Someone can be heard bellowing “shame on you” in the video and as the board retreats into another room, the crowd chants “shame.”
In a statement on its website, the board said that “a number of individuals were disruptive,” and board members called a recess. Police officers were also called “to ensure the safety of all those in attendance.” No arrests were made, the board said, and the meeting later continued.
In a faux news broadcast by Campaign Life Coalition, Kevin Dupuis, a former People’s Party of Canada candidate, says the statements were “racist.”
“This is wrong, we don’t need someone like this…. Why is she on the board? I have no idea,” Dupuis says.
Before she issued her statement, protesters had called on Ashby to apologize, resign or be removed from her role.
Since the meeting, one other trustee has spoken out against Ashby. As yet, none of the board members have spoken up in defence of Ashby’s views, or her right to espouse them.
“I want to publicly express my personal dismay and sadness regarding the hateful comments made by my colleague on Twitter,” wrote Marisa Philips. She called the comments “heinous.”
“I stand with the concerned parents and community members who denounce my colleagues’ words.”
The National Post has reached out to Ashby for comment but did not receive a response by deadline.
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