Judge Rules Alberta Trustee’s Removal Was ‘Disproportionate,’ the Board Made Legal Error

The Alberta legislature in Edmonton in a file photo. Carolina Avendano/The Epoch Times

An Alberta judge has ruled that a school board’s decision to disqualify a trustee over comments he made toward two school division employees was “disproportionate,” and that the board erred in law by requiring him to issue an apology of a specific nature.

Justice Eleanor J. Funk of the Court of King’s Bench issued a ruling on June 11, saying that the Peace River School Division in northwest Alberta did not have a factual basis to justify its decision to disqualify former trustee Moise Dion.

Dion was disqualified in September 2024 after the board determined he had engaged in “discreditable conduct.” He had faced two separate code of conduct complaints for comments directed at two employees, which the board described as “inappropriate.”

“The Board failed to make any findings regarding what comments Mr. Dion made, other than being ‘inappropriate’ and in a ‘harsh tone,’” reads the decision. “Without making the necessary factual findings to underpin its decision to disqualify Mr. Dion, the Board’s decision was unjust, disproportionate, and excessive.”

While the document does not specify what comments Dion made, his lawyer, James Kitchen, told The Epoch Times the first complaint stemmed from Dion raising concerns about the secretary-treasurer’s performance. The second complaint, meanwhile, was related to Dion questioning the school deputy superintendent’s ability to provide legal advice based on the Education Act, Kitchen said.

The judge also ruled the board erred in law when it required Dion to issue an “appropriate” apology for the comments he made, saying the quality of the apology could not be objectively weighed.

“While the Board directed Mr. Dion to provide an ‘appropriate’ apology, the Board’s reaction demonstrated it was in fact requiring a ‘meaningful’ apology that expressed ‘genuine remorse’—both of which are without objective measure,” the judge wrote.

In response to the ruling, the school board said it respects the court’s role in the matter and is “carefully reviewing the judgment to understand its full implications.”

“We recognize the court’s finding that the Board erred in law regarding the specific wording of the apology requirement and the proportionality of the sanction imposed in this particular instance,” board chair Crystal Owens said in a statement to The Epoch Times. “We take these findings seriously and will be reflecting on them as we move forward.”

Owens added the issue arose from a “series of documented concerns regarding Trustee Dion’s conduct,” and that the board is committed to upholding its code of conduct to “ensure a productive and professional atmosphere for all stakeholders.”

According to the ruling, Dion must be reinstated as a trustee for the remainder of his elected term. The judge also ordered the board to repay the salary he would have earned during his disqualification.

Kitchen said the ruling “sets a good precedent” for how school boards should handle differences among trustees. He said boards should not resort to disqualifying members and instead focus on reconciliation and hearing all parties’ concerns.

“There has been very little law on this,” Kitchen said, adding that the judge’s decision provides direction to school boards and trustees on how to “respect the democratic process.”

Kitchen says Dion’s case was similar to that of former Red Deer, Alta., trustee Monique LaGrange, who was removed from her position over social media comments she made criticizing gender issues. She was sanctioned, and in November 2024 the Court of King’s Bench upheld the board’s decision. She appealed the court’s ruling earlier this year.

Kitchen argues those cases illustrate why the Alberta government’s recent amendments to the Education Act were necessary.

Alberta’s Initiative

Earlier this year, the Alberta government introduced Bill 51, the Education Amendment Act, 2025, to limit the power of school boards to remove elected officials over alleged code of conduct violations.

Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides said the changes were about “strengthening democratic principles” by ensuring that decisions about who represents voters or stops representing them are made by the public, not by school boards.

“Voters should always have the final say over who their representative is or is not, and so by making these changes, we’ll ensure that a school board doesn’t have the ability to override the will of the electorate,” he said during an April 8 news conference.

The Act received royal assent on May 15.