A Niagara Catholic District School Board Trustee has been found guilty by her peers of breaching the board’s trustee code of conduct.
A special board meeting was held last night to discuss the actions of trustee, Natalia Benoit, with a third-party report presented to the board.
Benoit made headlines last spring when she put forward a motion to reverse the board’s decision to fly the Pride flag at the school board during the month of June.
Benoit was also recorded by local media appearing to compare the Pride flag to a Nazi flag.
"Well, any flag at all... Like the Nazi flag, we don't want that up either, right?" Benoit says in the video.
In September, it was announced that she would take a four-month leave from her position.
It was decided last night that Benoit is now relieved of all her duties as trustee, and she is banned from attending all board and committee meetings under the end of June.
After June 30th 2024, she can resume her trustee duties.
Under the Education Act, she will continue to receive her salary from the board.
“While I am sorry that we had to go through this process, I believe we made the correct decision,” said Chair Danny Di Lorenzo.
“I am grateful for the thoughtful and compassionate comments made by the trustees during our deliberations. The focus must be on education, and how best to move forward in support of all students and staff at Niagara Catholic.”
Trustee Benoit attended the meeting virtually, but did not speak.
You can watch the meeting by clicking here.