The meeting was routine until it wasn’t. On April 9, during a school council session at Ancaster High School in Ontario, elected parent representative Catherine Kronas raised a quiet objection. After the principal read the customary land acknowledgment, she asked that her disagreement be noted in the minutes. That was it. No disruption. No shouting. No refusal to participate. Just a request to record her view.
Her suspension contained no details
no appeals process
no complainant
no timeline
no specific offence
just a lefty lash
— Tablesalt 🇨🇦 (@Tablesalt13) June 24, 2025
Six weeks later, she was suspended.
The Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board sent her a letter on May 22. It said her role on the council was “paused” while the board reviewed allegations that she had caused harm. No details were given. No complainant was named. No timeline was offered. She was barred from attending future meetings. There was no appeals process. No hearing. No explanation of what rule she had broken. Just a vague reference to conduct that allegedly violated board policy.
There is no policy requiring land acknowledgments at school council meetings. Kronas had served on the council since 2023 and was re-elected in 2024. Her objection was measured. She said the practice felt like compelled political speech. She cited the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. She asked that her dissent be recorded. The meeting continued without incident. But the board acted weeks later, behind closed doors, without public discussion.
The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms stepped in. On June 4, it issued a legal warning to the board, demanding that Kronas be reinstated. The letter argued that the suspension violated her right to freedom of expression and failed to meet basic standards of procedural fairness. The board has not responded publicly. At the next council meeting, the agenda item to approve the April 9 minutes was quietly removed. No explanation was given.
Media were barred from attending virtually. Reporters who showed up in person were told to wait while the board consulted its communications team. After a 30-minute delay, they were allowed to stay, but not speak. The meeting resumed. The minutes were scrubbed. The silence was louder than any statement.
Kronas has not backed down. She said the board’s actions send a message to parents: even respectful disagreement can be punished. She is still waiting for a formal explanation. There is none.
Sources:
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/terry-newman-she-objected-land-100205629.html