Anti-Francophone statements: Colleagues of the School Commissioner Sophie de Vito demand her resignation

Colleagues of the English School Commissioner, who had claimed REM to be a problem because it was built by French speakers, called a private meeting to demand her immediate resignation.

• Also read: REM problems: School Commissioner Sophie de Vito makes racist anti-Francophone remarks

“It is completely unacceptable that an elected official (or anyone else for that matter) should be allowed to make such disparaging remarks and be able to continue to serve on the school board,” wrote the vice president and commissioner of the Montreal English School. Board of Directors, Agostino Cannavino, in an email to our Parliamentary Office.

On August 3, an elected member of the school board, Sophie de Vito, posted a controversial message on Platform X (formerly Twitter), asserting that the REM problems were explained by the fact that it was built by French speakers.

“The Anglo-Immigrants would have done it right,” she wrote.

Then the Minister of the French Language, Jean-François Roberge, and the Minister of Justice, Simon-Julin-Barrett, denounced these remarks and demanded an apology from the Commissioner.

Faced with this controversy, Mr.^I De Vito took his position, and the school board sent a letter of apology to Newspaper from his side. However, the commissioner has not posted any public message on her social networks to back off.

To prove that “all Council members do not think the same way,” Mr. Canavino called a special meeting, with the support of another commissioner, Joseph Lala, to demand Mr. Canavino’s “immediate resignation”.^I from veto. This meeting will take place on Wednesday.

The proposed resolution qualifies mr.^I De Vito is “unworthy” of the position of school trustee, and notes that such statements lead to “an escalation of hate, prejudice, and injustice in our society.” The declaration of mr.^I De Vito “tarnishes the image of the school board, its board and all its staff”.

In his email, he noted that “there is a diversity of opinions within the English-speaking community, and it would be unfair to peg the English-speaking community as a bloc that endorses racist comments.”