A member of Hamilton’s public school board is hoping recent security restrictions calling for locked doors and the prohibiting of protest signs in meetings will only be temporary.
Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board trustee Todd White says the measures that took effect in September weren’t implemented by the board itself but by staff in the wake of protests over school gender identity policies.
White says the protocol at the Education Centre on Education Court came into effect as of Sept. 11 and is the result of a mid-June meeting in which demonstrators arrived with “troubling and harmful” signs and “unruly” behaviour that precipitated “shouting and interruptions.”
Several of the protesters had to be expelled from the gathering.
“But ultimately, because of our inability to do that on the spot, the meeting itself had to end and we had to shift to a private environment unfortunately,” White explained.
The HWDSB approach comes the same week anti-trans rallies were held across Canada and met by crowds affirming their support for transgender youth facing a climate of increasing hate.
As of September, visitors who want to check out the Hamilton meetings now need to be signed in and be escorted by security. Attendees also won’t be allowed to carry signs.
A similar proposed guest policy came before the HWDSB in late May but was deferred while a system employing virtual and manual sign-in using photo identification could be designed, according to a spokesperson.
“A lot of these measures that we’re taking certainly might be necessary given the current climate,” White said.
“But the hope would be that when things cool down, we can go back to business as usual and have those positive relationships with our communities.”
McMaster University political science and labour studies professor Peter Grafe suggests some actions he’s seen from demonstrators at school board meetings may be somewhat misdirected since the Ministry of Education typically has the last word on larger-scope policies and controversies.
Grafe says as restrictive as the Hamilton board’s protocol may seem, it’s not necessarily unusual considering several Ontario city halls take similar measures.
“If you go to some city councils in this province, it’s even more restrictive in that you can’t bring backpacks into a chamber or you’ll have your purses and bags checked on the way in,” Grafe said.