Education Minister Paul Calandra introduced a bill on Monday aimed at dismissing a single school board trustee linked to a controversial $45,000 trip taken by four trustees from the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board to Italy last year. During the trip, the trustees purchased art worth $100,000 for the board.
Calandra had previously stated that three of the trustees reimbursed their expenses, but the fourth trustee declined to do so. As a result, Calandra warned that if the trustee did not repay the expenses, he would face termination.
“We gave him the choice to repay or face dismissal, and today we are following through on that commitment,” Calandra stated after presenting the bill. “We are taking action to dismiss him and set a precedent.”
According to Calandra, the trustees’ travel expenses to Italy totaled around $50,000, which he deemed “excessive and unwarranted.” The bill’s preamble indicates that the trustee in question has not reimbursed his portion of $12,370.
The proposed legislation seeks to remove Mark Watson from his position and prohibit him from running for a trustee role in any school board during the 2026 municipal elections. Additionally, he would be ineligible to serve as a trustee at any Ontario school board until 2030.
Despite being contacted for comment, Watson did not immediately respond. Calandra’s specific bill coincides with his contemplation of a broader restructuring of board governance. He has placed five boards under government oversight due to what he described as “mismanagement,” with the possibility of additional boards facing similar intervention.
Calandra has expressed reluctance in returning the currently supervised boards to trustees and is exploring the potential elimination of the trustee position altogether. A decision on this matter is expected by the year’s end, following his consultations with parents and teachers across the province who have voiced concerns about the school board’s performance and expectations for improvement.
