Search of student allegedly asked to pull down pants prompts protests
Members of a northern Manitoba community are demanding a school staff member step down after a student was allegedly asked to pull their pants down during a search for a vaping product.
The group of community members was protesting in front of Gillam School Friday for the second day in a row. The group of more than two dozen people marched outside the school, singing and drumming with signs reading 'Every Child Matters.'
RCMP told CTV News officers were at the rally Friday to preserve the peace and maintain public safety.
The outcry stems from an incident that happened last week involving a 12-year-old student.
The girl's mother told CTV News her daughter and two other girls were confronted by a school staff member who accused them of vaping in the bathroom.
They were taken to an office, and after emptying their pockets with no devices being found, two of the girls were told they could leave.
The woman told CTV News the staff member suspected her daughter was hiding a vape in her pants, so another staff member was brought in to supervise an additional search.
According to the girl's mother, her daughter was instructed to lower her pants as part of the search. While she initially refused, she did eventually pull her pants down to her mid-thighs.
She says nothing was found.
CTV News has reached out to Frontier School Division for comment and has not heard back.
In a letter to parents obtained by CTV News, the division said it has investigated.
"After meeting with everyone involved in the matter, (Frontier School Division) is confident the search was completed safely and in keeping with Manitoba Education and the Division's policies," the letter reads.
Cpl. Julie Courchaine with the Manitoba RCMP confirmed officers did investigate the matter, however no charges are being considered as a result.
The mother of the girl along with several other community members protesting at the school say they want the staff member who initiated the search to be removed from their position. The mother says she won't be sending her child to that school until they are.
The division said in its letter that it respects the rights of individuals to protest, and said it looks forward to ongoing meetings with the family to resolve the issue.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Why these immigrants to Canada say they're thinking about leaving, or have already moved on
For some immigrants, their dreams of permanently settling in Canada have taken an unexpected twist.
DEVELOPING Live updates from the Trump hush money trial: Stormy Daniels, bookkeeper testify
Adult film star Stormy Daniels is on the stand a second time Thursday as former U.S. president Donald Trump’s hush money case continues in Manhattan. Follow live updates here.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Here are the ultraprocessed foods you most need to avoid, according to a 30-year study
Studies have shown that ultraprocessed foods can have a detrimental impact on health. But 30 years of research show they don’t all have the same impact.
Ontario man frustrated after $3,500 paving job leaves driveway in shambles
An Ontario man considering having his driveway paved received a quote from a company for $7,000, but then, another paver in the neighbourhood knocked on his door and offered half that rate.
BREAKING Sheldon Keefe out as head coach of Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs have fired head coach Sheldon Keefe. The team made the announcement Thursday after the Original Six franchise lost to the Boston Bruins in seven games in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Boeing 737 catches fire and skids off the runway at a Senegal airport, injuring 10 people
A Boeing 737-300 plane carrying 85 people skidded off a runway at the airport in Dakar, Senegal's capital, injuring 10 people, according to the transport minister, an airline safety group and footage from a passenger that showed the aircraft on fire.
Breast cancer screening should start at age 40, Canadian Cancer Society says
The Canadian Cancer Society says all provinces and territories should lower the starting age for breast cancer screening to 40.
Man accused of killing two children at Quebec daycare to stand trial in April 2025
The man accused of murdering two children and injuring six others after a city bus crashed into a Montreal-area daycare is scheduled to stand trial over five weeks beginning in April 2025.