Alberta school trustee who compared LGBTQ2S+ community to Nazis resigns after board disqualifies her

A school board trustee who posted a meme to social media in August comparing the LGBTQ2S+ community to Nazi Germany has been disqualified from her position for violating sanctions, Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools said in a media release on Tuesday afternoon.

As a result of the disqualification, Monique LaGrange resigned from her post, RDCRS said in the release.

Its board of trustees decided to disqualify LaGrange from her post after it found she contravened sanctions issued in late September and further violations of board policy and the Education Act, according to RDCRS.

"As the chair of the RDCRS Board of Trustees, I affirm our unwavering dedication to fostering a safe, secure, caring, respectful and inclusive learning environment for our students, staff and community members," board chair Murray Hollman said in the release. "Regrettably, as a result of trustee LaGrange's violation of the sanctions placed on her on September 26, 2023, as well as her additional violations of Board Policy and the Education Act, the board made the challenging decision to disqualify trustee LaGrange.”

LaGrange's Aug. 27 post — widely criticized by groups including parents, students, LGBTQ2S+ entities, the Alberta Teachers Association, the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center and some Alberta government figures but also supported by others — showed a picture of children waving swastika flags above a picture of children waving Pride flags, with the caption "brainwashing is brainwashing."

On Oct. 13, the board concluded that LaGrange violated its policies and ordered her to issue a sincere apology, take sensitivity training and recognize that her post "hurt feelings."

But LaGrange insisted "the post is not about the LGBTQ [sic] community" and that the discipline process was "tainted by procedural unfairness and bias," a decision released Oct. 17 by the board states.

LaGrange's lawyer James Kitchen, who said in October that she would not apologize, said in an email to CTV News that she did not willingly resign her position and that the board "kicked her off," which due to two sections of the Education Act required her to quit.

The board says it will issue "detailed reasons" for its decision by Nov. 24.

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Sean Amato