Ottawa public school trustee Dr. Nili Kaplan-Myrth resigns

OCDSB trustee Dr. Nili Kaplan-Myrth speaks with CTV Ottawa on Aug. 17, 2024. (Jackie Perez/CTV News Ottawa)

Dr. Nili Kaplan-Myrth says she will step down from her position as trustee for Ottawa’s largest school board.

Speaking at the conclusion of the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board’s (OCDSB) committee of the whole meeting Tuesday night, Kaplan-Myrth read a resignation letter, saying she was targeted as a progressive trustee throughout her term and accused the board of fostering “toxicity” and “dysfunction.”

“I am resigning because of the toxicity from outside of this board and also from within this board,” she told trustees.

Kaplan-Myrth, a local family doctor, has been outspoken on social media and has elicited controversy since she was elected to serve Zone 9 in the 2022 municipal election.

She accused other board members of remaining silent when she received online hate and threatening messages that targeted both her and her family while promoting mask mandates and advocating for progressive causes.

An advocate for 2SLGBTQ+ rights and public health measures, including masking, she has been a target of racist and sexist remarks as a Jewish person online and in-person.

In November 2022, she introduced a motion urging for mandatory mask mandates in schools, attracting controversy from parents for her activities on social media and for allegedly intimidating other trustees into voting for the motion. After heavy debate, the vote for the mandate did not pass.

In September 2023, Kaplan-Myrth was subject to a vote of a breach of conduct where, Donna Dickson, a black trustee, accused Kaplan-Myrth of “extremely insensitive, insulting and disrespectful” text messages after she was told not to “vote with white supremacists” for opposing the vote on the mask mandate.

A vote to sanction her actions failed, but an outburst during the special board meeting concerning her actions in December 2023 elicited another complaint.

Trustees voted unanimously to bar her from a board meeting and from sitting on several committees for 90 days.

Kaplan-Myrth had argued an integrity commissioner’s report, which formed the basis for the sanctions, and the board’s decision was based on “faulty or incomplete findings of facts” and “fundamental errors.”

Kaplan-Myrth filed a human rights complaint against the OCDSB in 2023, arguing the board failed to address her repeated complaints that she was subjected to antisemitic treatment online and in-person. She also sought a judicial review of the sanctions against her.

Her resignation comes after the OCDSB passed its controversial Elementary Program Review last month, which Kaplan-Myrth voted against. It introduced a slate of changes to controversial grade structures and boundaries as the board faces significant financial pressures.

Staff are set to present the draft budget in June that will include savings to balance the books. The Ministry of Education has ordered an investigation into the OCDSB’s finances with the board posting four straight budget deficits.

With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Ted Raymond