A meeting of candidates for SD68 trustees was ended shortly after one candidate answered a question on sexual orientation and gender identity supports, with graphic imagery of a surgery. (SD68)

By Alex Rawnsley

tempers flare

Gabriola event derailed after school trustee candidate shows ‘very graphic and explicit’ images

Oct 14, 2022 | 11:58 AM

GABRIOLA ISLAND — A question for school trustee candidates in the 2022 Municipal Elections on inclusion resulted in a heated confrontation requiring a police presence.

A meet and greet at Gabriola Island Elementary School on Thursday, Oct. 14 saw several candidates running for a District 68 school trustee position discussing an array of issues in a spirited event. The meeting was supported by the school’s Parent Advisory Council.

However, a question posed on support for SOGI (sexual orientation and gender identity) education and supports in schools, which asked for a yes or no answer, saw tempers flare according to Alli Rose who attended the meeting.

“One candidate, Tanner Scott, didn’t say anything, walked up to us and shoved his phone in our faces, which had very graphic and explicit images on it that really had nothing to do with the question,” Rose told NanaimoNewsNOW. “He didn’t answer the question, he just walked around and basically shoved a phone in our faces.”

Rose wasn’t able to categorize the images she saw, only saying it “looked possibly like genitalia” but Scott later offered an explanation to the crowd.

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The images were of gender re-assignment surgeries, namely a female mastectomy and phalloplasty surgery according to Scott.

A mastectomy surgery removes breast tissue while a phalloplasty surgery involves creation of male genitalia. Both can be used to support someone transitioning.

Rose said Scott was “well within” the personal boundaries of those he showed his phone to, prompting the crowd to first ask him to stop before requesting he leave as police were called.

“Pretty much everyone else there was like ‘this is not how we behave, this is an inclusive space, you should not be here.'”

Gabriola Island RCMP confirmed one officer attended around 4 p.m. and escorted Scott out of the school.

Cpl. Jordan Mullen, the detachment’s commanding officer, said Scott cooperated with the officer and left peacefully. No charges are being considered.

Rose said the incident soured an otherwise informative event.

“(I was impressed) with how thoughtful their answers were, how they were listening to us, how they interacted with each other and how engaged they were with being School Board Trustees.”

Conversations around relationship building with local First Nations as well as overcrowding at NDSS were top of mind for Gabriola parents.

Tanner Scott recorded himself leaving a trustee candidate meeting on Gabriola Island, under escort from RCMP, on Thursday, Oct. 14. (Tanner Scott YouTube)

NanaimoNewsNOW made multiple attempts to reach Scott for comment on this story, however requests were not returned by publishing time.

Scott confirmed, via a post on his official campaign website late Thursday night, he showed images to the crowd which “seemed appalled at the site (sic)”. Scott also wrote the crowd’s reaction “was the point” of his demonstration.

On a selfie video posted by Scott from the meeting, he wished his fellow candidates well before being escorted out by an RCMP officer, saying “this is the state of school trustees here in 2022, wave bye everybody.”

According to his website, Scott has worked as an at-risk youth support worker for the last seven years and moved to Nanaimo from Saskatchewan in 2014.

Dale Burgos, communications director for School District 68, said the District fully supports inclusion for all students and staff and a formal inclusion policy was adopted in 2016.

“Included in that policy, we also have administrative guidelines on sexual orientation, gender identity and everything to do with inclusion. There’s specific information in there on how we are to follow SOGI policy.”

The policy is available on the District’s website.

Burgos added specific curriculum on sexual education is guided by the provincial government’s Ministry of Education and Child Care.

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