3 days ago
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
Education minister vows to fire Brant Catholic trustee
A Brant Catholic trustee who disobeyed orders
to repay Italy trip funds
could lose his seat.
In April, Education Minister Paul Calandra demanded four Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board trustees who took a
now-infamous trip to Europe
to buy art for schools (flying business class and eating at a Michelin star restaurant) repay the nearly $50,000 they expensed.
Three trustees confirmed they repaid their shares of $12,666 ahead of the May 23 deadline.
'I, along with Rick Petrella and Dan Dignard, have repaid in full,' trustee Bill Chopp told The Spectator in an email last Thursday.
On the same day, Petrella corroborated, telling The Spec 'I have, along with Dan Dignard, and Bill Chopp, fully repaid all amounts related to travel expenses to the board, in full compliance with the minister's directive.'
On Thursday, Calandra told Newstalk 1010 host Deb Hutton he will 'fire' the fourth, who only paid '$2,000' of his share, CTV reported.
Trustee Mark Watson owed $12,370. When asked last week, neither he nor the school board would confirm if he repaid the full amount.
As it stands, Calandra can't remove a trustee — who is elected by the public — from their seat.
However, he told Hutton he plans to bring forward legislation that would enable him to 'vacate that trustee's seat,' CTV reported.
The Spectator was unable to reach Watson by phone on Thursday for comment.
When asked, the school board said it doesn't have anything to share at this time.
After news of the trip broke, Haldimand-Norfolk MPP Bobbi Ann Brady asked then-minister Jill Dunlop to call the four trustees and demand they resign.
'So, yes, I agree that this rogue trustee should be fired if he refuses to repay taxpayers the full amount of the Italian junket,' she told The Spectator Thursday.
In a news conference earlier in the day, Calandra announced a Supporting Children and Students Act, which, if passed, would 'expand my authority as the minister of education for oversight and control of school board affairs,' he said.
It would allow the ministry to intervene and put a school board under supervision without waiting for a recommendation from a third-party investigation, he said.
