Latest news with #Kaplan-Myrth
Ottawa Citizen
18 hours ago
- Politics
- Ottawa Citizen
Today's letters: Ontario is being simplistic about hospital parking fees
Article content Article content The reasons Dr. Nili Kaplan-Myrth have given for her resignation as a trustee from the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board reinforce the growing knowledge that board employees will not be protected from extremist intimidation and threats (depending on who is making the threat and who the target of the threat is), nor from years of administrative abuse of power. Article content Kaplan-Myrth's story is another example of a public school system that has run amok due to years of not having to be accountable to its taxpayers. Its financial mismanagement is just the tip of the iceberg. Article content We truly need the Ontario government to ensure our children and youth are being properly educated for the 21st century and to demand that the school boards committed and hard-working employees get the support and protection they need in the face of administrative indifference and the multifaceted extremist ideologies that infuse our culture and threaten our children's future. Article content Article content I was struck by news coverage of homes destroyed by wildfires and tornadoes and by how vulnerable wooden homes are. That, plus the rise of homelessness and the recent tariffs on Canadian steel, makes me think that now is the time for Canada to develop its own modular, pre-fabricated steel homes. Article content This would create a local demand for Canadian steel and aluminum products, while providing easily deployable, strong, durable structures resistant to the natural disasters. They could be transported by truck or rail, then dropped on site as needed to address emergency/temporary and long-term housing needs. The walls themselves could then be reinforced and insulated locally with poured concrete. Article content
Ottawa Citizen
6 days ago
- Health
- Ottawa Citizen
OCDSB trustee Nili Kaplan-Myrth, a lightning rod for controversy, resigns
The outspoken and divisive trustee at the centre of multiple firestorms at Ottawa's largest school board has resigned. Article content In a scorching notice of resignation filed at the end of an Ottawa-Carleton District School Board meeting Tuesday night, Nili Kaplan-Myrth said it was her responsibility to advocate for students with disabilities and neurodiverse, 2SLGBTQ+, Indigenous and racialized students, but she faced 'a long-standing pattern of dysfunction and a lack of leadership' at the school board and harsh treatment from the public. Article content Article content Article content 'I have done everything that I said I would, to the best of my ability, in the face of vile harassment, defamation, death threats, and disrespect to me and my family,' she said. Article content Article content Kaplan-Myrth, a family physician, was an advocate for masking during the COVID-19 pandemic. Elected as a rookie trustee in 2022, she attracted the ire of masking opponents only weeks later when she filed a motion to make face masks mandatory for students and staff. Article content The meeting attracted a raucous crowd, with protesters chanting 'freedom' and 'shame.' Police were called and everyone was asked to leave the school board building. Article content She was again the target of protests in March 2023 after she cut off the microphone of a parent who had signed up to speak to trustees about bullying, but instead commented about transgender students' use of washrooms. Police were once again called to clear the board chambers, Kaplan-Myrth was the subject of an online petition demanding her resignation, and the school board introduced new security measures, including limiting attendance to 75 people and banning posters and placards from the building. Article content Article content In March 2024, fellow trustee Donna Blackburn asked administrators to reconsider security measures after members of the Muslim community were turned away from a meeting. Article content Article content Kaplan-Myrth frequently clashed with Blackburn. Kaplan-Myrth was the subject of two trustee code of conduct investigations — first, after she sought support for the masking mandate and again for an incident that happened only minutes after she was narrowly found not to be in violation. Article content While seeking support for her mask motion, Kaplan-Myrth sought support from fellow trustee Donna Dickson. When Dickson was reluctant to support the motion, Kaplan-Myrth urged her not to side with 'white supremacists,' prompting the first code of conduct investigation.
