Supreme Court won’t review school board’s decision to sanction trustee over remarks

OTTAWA — The Supreme Court of Canada will not review the Toronto Catholic District School Board’s decision to sanction a trustee over comments he made during a debate.

At a November 2019 public meeting of trustees, the board considered a motion to add four new grounds for barring discriminatory practices: gender identity, gender expression, family status and marital status.

Trustee Michael Del Grande proposed an amendment to the motion, contending that if the four new proposed grounds were added, so too should others such as pedophilia, cannibalism, bestiality and vampirism.

An initial vote on whether Del Grande’s remarks breached the board’s code of conduct did not pass, but following a public outcry the board reconsidered and voted to sanction him.

An Ontario court found the board acted within the scope of its authority in reconsidering its initial decision and ruled that its actions were reasonable.

The Ontario Court of Appeal upheld the ruling, prompting Del Grande to take his case to the Supreme Court.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 15, 2025.

The Canadian Press