Former Red Deer Catholic school trustee files for judicial review of board dismissal

A former Red Deer Catholic school trustee wants a judge to reinstate her, arguing board colleagues unjustly removed her over social media posts and interviews.

Monique LaGrange filed two applications for judicial review last week in the Red Deer Court of King's Bench.

Her lawyer, James Kitchen, said in an interview Friday that LaGrange wants to continue work as a school trustee and is pushing back against "cancel culture" for expressing opinions.

"You don't need to resort to censorship and exclusion and all these sort of coercive tactics of just kicking people out of, and off of, any position of influence or power or or decision making," Kitchen said.

Kitchen said free speech should only be curtailed when a person makes "objectively bad, dangerous, evil" comments wishing harm or death upon people.

In August, LaGrange posted a meme on social media with two pictures, one on top of the other: one of children holding swastika flags, and the other of children holding Pride flags, with the caption, "Brainwashing is brainwashing."

After the school board received a complaint about the post, trustees held a meeting in September where they decided LaGrange had breached a code of conduct.

Trustees passed a motion preventing LaGrange from representing the board or division in an official capacity, including in media interviews. They told her to refrain from making public statements about the LGBTQ community.

They asked her to apologize for the post and required her to take sensitivity training.

Documents the board released after the decision said LaGrange told her board colleagues the Holy Spirit told her to "go for it" and post the meme likening LGBTQ pride to Nazi Germany.

An application for judicial review filed with the court says after the board's initial sanction, LaGrange posted something else online depicting a wolf wearing makeup and captioned, "I just want to read some books to your chickens."

She also appeared on an online talk show and a Christian podcast in October defending her online post from August.

The board then voted in November to disqualify LaGrange as a trustee, saying she had violated the first sanction.

Court application says LaGrange's meme aligned with Catholic teachings

In an interview, Kitchen said LaGrange has asked a court to review both her initial sanction and her removal.

One written court application says the first decision was procedurally unfair, and the board failed to provide a valid reason why she contravened the code of conduct.

It also argues LaGrange's perspectives align with Roman Catholic Beliefs, and cites excerpts on sexual orientation from a 1997 version of the Catechisms of the Catholic Church.

"The same people who are offended by the applicant's posts would be equally offended by the bases of Roman Catholic education," the application says.

In September, the president of the Alberta Catholic School Trustees Association, Harry Salm, told CBC News LaGrange's actions had the potential to undermine the learning environment at Catholic schools.

"Our Catholic schools love all students as gifts from God in his image, irrespective of their sexual orientation and gender expression," Salm said at the time.

In an email Friday, Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools spokesperson Patrick Teskey said the board is aware of LaGrange's court applications.

"The board is actively working with our legal team to navigate through the judicial review legal process," the statement said.

Although an initial court date is scheduled in Red Deer in January, Kitchen says the case would not likely go to trial until later in 2024, and it could be a year before a judge makes a ruling.

The next municipal election date in Alberta is in October 2025. Kitchen said the court challenge is also a matter of principle.

In a statement last month, Red Deer Catholic school board chair Murray Hollman said the board has a mission to "foster and maintain welcoming, safe, caring and respectful learning environments for all students, staff and families."

The court application says the division's assertion LaGrange's meme made anyone feel unsafe is "flimsy" and unsupported by evidence.