Elgie steps down amid uproar over racial slur
After weeks of controversy over use of offensive word to describe a black parent, school trustee says it was a ‘terrible mistake’ and announces her resignation
York Region trustee Nancy Elgie — who has clung to her position for weeks amid a public furor over her use of a racial slur — is now stepping down, saying she “brought undeserved distress” to the community and harmed the school board’s reputation.
In a video statement posted on YouTube, a well-spoken Elgie said that over the past 17 years as a trustee, “I have always tried to make a difference, particularly for our most vulnerable children.”
She said using the word n----- to refer to a black parent, after a public meeting last November, “was a terrible mistake.”
“So I have decided that the best thing I can do to serve the people of Georgina, and the board, is to step down. I hope that this will allow trustees to move forward and focus on the many important issues they face. And that it will enable a process of healing and restoration to begin. I am quite willing to be involved in that process, if it would be helpful, though it will not be as a trustee,” Elgie said in the video.
Charline Grant, the parent who was the target of the slur, said, “I appreciate her finally stepping down . . . (now) everyone can start to heal, not just myself, but the community.”
“I appreciate her finally stepping down . . . (now) everyone can start to heal, not just myself, but the community.” CHARLINE GRANT
School board chair Loralea Carruthers, who was the first trustee to ask Elgie to resign, said, “I know many of our communities were looking for this outcome to move forward with the process of healing and rebuilding trust in our system.”
Elgie, who has been under growing pressure to step down, made her announcement Friday afternoon. A trustee since 2000, Elgie suffered a head injury last October. A resulting concussion caused her to mix up her words, she said.
In defending their mother, Elgie’s children have pointed to her long record of being a “champion for fairness and equality,” and insist she has “opposed discrimination her whole life.”
Star reporters had been in contact with her family for two days seeking their reaction to complaints from a fellow trustees and parents in the community that in recent years Elgie was dismissive of their concerns.
Fellow trustee Carol Chan, an immigrant from Hong Kong, came forward about an incident in which Elgie publicly disparaged her language skills.
Chan, who was excited to have been nominated to lead the board’s policy committee, said she was shocked when Elgie discouraged others from voting for her.
“I still remember the words, so clearly: She said, ‘Carol Chan is an ESL (English as a second language) person, she is not qualified to be the chair,’ ” said Chan, who has been a trustee for Richmond Hill since 2010.
“I know nobody is perfect . . . But she criticized me because of the way I spoke, not because I couldn’t do the job,” added Chan, who ended up winning the nomination, in part because trustees were upset at Elgie’s com- ment — something they told her and also confirmed to the Star.
When contacted about complaints about Elgie’s performance as a trustee, her son Stewart said “these allegations are a disappointing attempt to rewrite history and smear the record of a trustee who has earned consistent praise from her colleagues and constituents over the years.”
He did not wish to address each complaint, “because they are a combination of unfair, exaggerated and selective. Anyone who has served 17 years in elected office will have both fans and foes among their colleagues and constituents. I can say with absolute certainty that those who admire and respect Nancy’s work far outnumber her critics.”
The Star also spoke to Elgie family friends who shared stories of what they characterize as her commitment to human rights and to those struggling with poverty.
But others told the Star the 82year-old is no champion of equity within the board. Instead, some fellow trustees and constituents say they had found her to be “dismissive and non-responsive,” even after a number of racially charged incidents in her community.
Desiree Makuto, whose son was videotaped being beaten and racially taunted by classmates in a high-profile incident at Sutton District High School in 2014, said she called and emailed Elgie for support, to no avail.
“She never did respond — she was surprisingly silent on the issue,” said Makuto. “. . . She had an obligation, a role to play.”
Ken Dia, a long-time friend of the family who lived with Elgie temporarily when he needed a place to stay, said “being a black person, and having lived there, and frankly, she’s helped me out.” He said he found it “difficult” to accept she would use a racial slur “because I know her very well.”
But some York trustees, who requested anonymity, say Elgie’s comment to Chan was not isolated.
“She regularly put Carol down for her English skills,” said one.
Elgie also raised eyebrows in December when she complained about the use of the word Islamophobia, during a private meeting, even though the board was facing accusations of anti-Muslim discrimination which a principal later admitted to and apologized for.
“She was adamant that we not use that word,” said a trustee. “She wouldn’t let it go.”
Chan said she was “motivated” to speak out about the ESL incident after hearing stories of racism parents shared at a heated board meeting last week. “I want to be a role model for the next generation. If we have these kinds of experiences, we have to speak out,” she said.
Grant said now that Elgie has resigned, the board must address concerns about widespread racism.
“My fight is not with Nancy Elgie,” she said. “My fight is with the York Region District School Board, where the systemic discrimination is, and that is what we have been dealing with — and trying to fight — and we will continue to do that.”
Carruthers said Elgie’s resignation will be accepted at the next board meeting and trustees will decided whether to hold a byelection or appoint a replacement.
Ongoing issues at the York board and accusations that it ignored incidents of racism and Islamophobia, as well as questions about trustee spending and conduct, prompted the provincial government to send in two investigators.
They are expected to issue a report in April.