OCDSB trustee Nili Kaplan-Myrth, a lightning rod for controversy, resigns
The outspoken and divisive trustee at the centre of multiple firestorms at Ottawa's largest school board has resigned.
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In a scorching notice of resignation filed at the end of an Ottawa-Carleton District School Board meeting Tuesday night, Nili Kaplan-Myrth said it was her responsibility to advocate for students with disabilities and neurodiverse, 2SLGBTQ+, Indigenous and racialized students, but she faced 'a long-standing pattern of dysfunction and a lack of leadership' at the school board and harsh treatment from the public.
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'I have done everything that I said I would, to the best of my ability, in the face of vile harassment, defamation, death threats, and disrespect to me and my family,' she said.
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Kaplan-Myrth, a family physician, was an advocate for masking during the COVID-19 pandemic. Elected as a rookie trustee in 2022, she attracted the ire of masking opponents only weeks later when she filed a motion to make face masks mandatory for students and staff.
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The meeting attracted a raucous crowd, with protesters chanting 'freedom' and 'shame.' Police were called and everyone was asked to leave the school board building.
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She was again the target of protests in March 2023 after she cut off the microphone of a parent who had signed up to speak to trustees about bullying, but instead commented about transgender students' use of washrooms. Police were once again called to clear the board chambers, Kaplan-Myrth was the subject of an online petition demanding her resignation, and the school board introduced new security measures, including limiting attendance to 75 people and banning posters and placards from the building.
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In March 2024, fellow trustee Donna Blackburn asked administrators to reconsider security measures after members of the Muslim community were turned away from a meeting.
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Kaplan-Myrth frequently clashed with Blackburn. Kaplan-Myrth was the subject of two trustee code of conduct investigations — first, after she sought support for the masking mandate and again for an incident that happened only minutes after she was narrowly found not to be in violation.
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While seeking support for her mask motion, Kaplan-Myrth sought support from fellow trustee Donna Dickson. When Dickson was reluctant to support the motion, Kaplan-Myrth urged her not to side with 'white supremacists,' prompting the first code of conduct investigation.
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