N.B. mother behind anthem fight had racist literature: ex-principal
Anti-immigrant agenda may have motivated campaign to reinstate O Canada
Last Updated: Tuesday, June 30, 2009 | 9:14 PM ET
CBC News
A former New Brunswick school principal who made headlines for canceling the daily singing of the national anthem in his school is questioning the motives of the parent who led the charge against his decision.
Erik Millett said Susan Boyd, who fought to have the anthem reinstated, had a political and possibly anti-immigrant agenda.
"She handed me literature which was clearly racist, borderline hate propaganda, which said if you're not prepared to speak English and adopt Christian values, then immigrants should get out of the country — they're not welcome," Millett said.
Boyd admitted she gave Millett literature but said she doesn't remember the exact details and denied it was anti-immigrant or racist.
"It was just about change, change in our country, … with immigrants coming in," she said. "You know, that's wonderful ... because they bring such value to our country, but we still have to keep our national anthem."
As principal of Belleisle Elementary in Sprinfield, Millett dropped the daily singing of the national anthem, reserving it for special events. The move was to accommodate children whose parents didn't want them to sing along for religious reasons and who had to leave the classroom each morning while O Canada played.
Millet said the change was part of several measures intended to make the school more inclusive.
In January 2009, about a year after he made the change, Millett came under attack for his decision by people in and outside of his small community, with a few Conservative MPs from New Brunswick even raising the issue in the House of Commons.
The school district superintendent eventually ordered that daily singing of the anthem be restored.
In June, the Liberal government passed a regulation requiring all schools in the province to play O Canada at the start of the day.
Millett stepped down as principal in April and says the controversy is still fresh in his mind. He said he's considering legal action against Boyd for what he describes as attacks on his character.
Boyd said she considers the matter closed and just wants to move on.
