Ontario launches review into pricey Italy trip by Catholic school board trustees

Ontario has appointed a reviewer to look into the expenses of the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board after four of its trustees took a $50,000 trip to South Tyrol, Italy in July to buy $100,000 worth of religious art for two new schools.

The province also alleges the school board made changes to expense policies before the trip.

Controversy begins

CTV News reached out to the board in October to find out how the trip was funded.

Rick Petrella, chair for the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board (BHNCDSB), said the money for the statues, sculptures and a large crucifix would be taken from the school board’s budget surplus, though they would also be fundraising to offset the cost. As for any travel expenses, Petrella said that would come from the trustees’ honoraria and expense budget.

“We take responsibility and ownership for this and are committed to addressing and remedying the situation,” he said in a statement to CTV News in October. “Each trustee, including myself, who participated in the trip has agreed to repay all the expenses incurred to the board.”

In response to the community’s concerns, Ontario’s education minister called for a governance review of the school board in October.

One of the sculptures purchased by the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board.

Board response

The board has six trustees, but only Petrella, Bill Chopp, Dan Dignard and Mark Watson went on the trip. All four promised to pay back their travel expenses. It is not clear if they have already done that.

According to the agenda for Monday’s school board meeting, the total cost of the trip was $50,369. That does not include any artwork purchased.

One of the two trustees who didn’t go on the Italy trip, Dennis Blake, tabled two motions at that same meeting. The first was to ask the board to reaffirm its commitment to transparency and accountability by agreeing to release all the expense documents related to the trip upon request. The second motion was a request to discontinue using a law firm and its crisis management team, or any other law and consulting firm, for matters surrounding the trip.

No other trustee seconded the motions.

Carlo Fortino, president of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association, feels a third-party needs to step in.

“How do you keep them accountable if they’re still the ones making the decisions?” he asked.

Review announced

On Thursday, the province announced a review into the school board’s expenses, its conflict of interest and accountability policies.

“Information gathered by the Ministry of Education found there were changes to the board’s policies about expenses and spending on non-student-related items (discretionary expenses) before the trip was taken,” the media release explained.

“Trustees are expected to be responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars and to spend education funding to support student achievement and better equip teachers in the classrooms, not on lavish trips and costly artwork,” Education Minister Jill Dunlop said in the release. “The BHNCDSB’s misuse of public dollars is appalling, and they have failed students, parents and their community with a serious lack of fiscal responsibility and judgment.”

The reviewer, identified as Aaron Shull, is expected to take a look into:

• Trustee expenses, travel, procurement, fundraising and financial accountability, especially focusing on the Italy trip and related purchases, including art and artifacts
• Board executives' pay to ensure it follows the Broader Public Sector Executive Compensation Act
• Any other relevant issues that come up during the review, including key staffing changes

Shull is currently the managing director and general counsel at the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), based in Waterloo, Ont. The province said he was chosen based on his experience in public policy, governance and procedural fairness.

In a statement to CTV News, the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board said they will fully cooperate in all aspects of the review.

The final report is expected in March 2025.

Review reaction

News of the review is long overdue, according to the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association.

“We were hoping that it would be done sooner,” said Fortino. “We’ve called for the resignation of these trustees several weeks ago.”

Some of his members said they’ve lost faith in the Catholic school board.

“There’s just a lack of trust and lack of belief in the political leadership,” Fortino explained. “There are still some questions left unanswered. How did this transpire? How was it approved? Questions about what other expenses were spent.”

Another question has also been bugging Fortino.

“Why do [they] have this huge surplus? And why did they feel entitled to go on this trip?”

While the trustees promised to pay the money back, Fortino said it might not be enough.

“I heard loud and clear from my members that it wasn’t. That what they did was unforgiveable,” he told CTV News. “Many of my members were demoralized by this issue.”

- With reporting by Krista Simpson