A Winnipeg school trustee suspended over memes on gender issues she posted on social media has resigned.
Francine Champagne came under scrutiny for memes she posted on her private Facebook page suggesting that gender should match biology.
One of the memes says: “Make men masculine again. Make women feminine again. Make children innocent again.” Another one says, “To identify as = To live a lie.”
Another shows a scene from the mid-20th century in which a girl is with her mother around the kitchen table and the girl says, “Mommy, I think I’m a boy.” The mom replies, “Well, you’re not.”
On June 6, Ms. Champagne was suspended from the Louis Riel School Division (LRSD) for three months without pay. She began an appeal process, with the hearing date set for Dec. 5. However, she was suspended for another 30 days without pay on Oct. 19, and while serving that suspension, she received a separate three-month suspension that was to start Nov. 17.
Ms. Champagne submitted her letter of resignation on Nov. 27, two days before an adjudicator was to hear her case at a new hearing date set for Nov. 29.
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In a public statement, she said her “work environment has become unbearable” and so with “mixed emotions” she was resigning as Ward 1 trustee.
“[N]otice has now been served on all Manitobans – a school trustee who holds traditional views will not be tolerated or be allowed to express beliefs that counter the narrative,” Ms. Champagne wrote.
The Manitoba Public Schools Act section 35.1(2) states, in part: “A code of conduct must, at a minimum, a) require a trustee to (i) act with integrity and in a manner that maintains the dignity of the office, ii) respect others who may have different opinions.” In her statement, Ms. Champagne argued that this clause should have protected her.
“How does expressing traditional views on gender issues discredit, undermine or compromise the integrity of the board? I have been singled out and punished for voicing the concerns of the people who have voted for me, including Christians, Muslims and many sensible secular citizens.”
Resignation Acceptance
The board of trustees for the LRSD accepted Mrs. Champagne’s letter of resignation at a meeting on Nov. 28 and issued a statement the next day.“Since June 6, 2023, the school board has endeavoured to hold a colleague accountable for words and deeds that caused great harm to students, staff, and members of our community while also working to reassure our community of our commitment to safe and caring working and learning environments,” the statement read.
“We want to reassure you that actions and language that cause harm will never be tolerated, and decisive action will always be taken against anyone who attempts to spread baseless, malicious, deceitful and vengeful lies about our students, staff, and families.
“Together, the school board and senior leadership team will continue to do everything possible to protect our staff, students, families, and community.”
In her public statement, Ms. Champagne said her appeal process was well on its way when Manitoba’s NDP government was sworn in on Oct. 18 and immediately removed the arbitrator the previous Progressive Conservative government had appointed to her case.
The following day was when she learned that the board had decided to suspend her again for not signing annual declarations, the reasons for which she said were valid and had been communicated in writing to the board chair.
The government then appointed a new adjudicator and set a hearing date of Nov. 29. Ms. Champagne says she has advised him in writing that she would not be able to attend. In her statement, she also said she was no longer able to afford her legal fees toward the appeal process and other matters.
“I surely did not become a school trustee with the intention of entering a legal battle. My objective was to focus on education (the 3Rs) and the moulding of healthy minds, but political activism seems to take precedence,” Ms. Champagne wrote.
‘Upholding Traditional Views’
Ms. Champagne, who received 2,817 votes in the 2022 school board elections, says she believes that her opinion is “supported by the majority,” having campaigned as someone “upholding traditional views and wishing to lend a voice to those defending parental rights.”“Now that voice is gone. However, it would be unsafe and unhealthy to work in an environment where intolerance reigns,” she wrote.
She said the definition of bullying in the Manitoba Public Schools Act accurately describes what she suffered. She said she was neither racist nor hateful but was characterized as such in her endeavour to protect children.
“In society, we must re-learn that disagreeing with someone does not equal hate. To equate a lack of approval with hate is dishonest at best, and it is a rather slippery slope that exposes the true goal of the agenda at work.”
The Frontier Centre for Public Policy published some of the memes Champagne posted in a June 9 poll. Over 95 percent of respondents said no one should suffer reprisals for such posts. However, Ms. Champagne lost a teaching contract at St. Boniface University in addition to her sanctions from the school board.
The Epoch Times reached out to Ms. Champagne and the LRSD for interviews but none were granted before publication.
