Anthem-banning principal a failed left-wing politician and radical activist

Singing O Canada is how most schools in the district start their day. At Belleisle Elementary School the anthem had a special meaning: Kara and Julia Boyd, two sisters at the school, had a cousin in the Canadian Forces who died fighting in Afghanistan. To the girls and their friends, it was a beautiful and natural display of patriotism -- and remembrance of their cousin.

The principal, Erik Millett (the hipster sporting the soul patch, pictured at left), gave a strange explanation for his decision to ban the anthem. He claims that some parents objected to the singing of the anthem, and so he cancelled it for everyone. When pressed for details about these purported complaints, Millett refused to give any details, claiming "privacy" reasons.

Riggght.

Of course, if there really were anti-anthem parents, they could have been told that the anthem is part of the school's program, and it was staying. Or they could have been told that they could exempt their own children from that three-minute exercise. Cancelling the entire thing -- based on mystery complaints that no-one else seems to have heard about -- is clearly the act of a rogue principal with his own agenda, not the result of any genuine parental concern.

"We try to balance the needs of every student, and we want every student to feel welcome in our school," Millett said.

"If we need to make some accommodations or exceptions, then we'll try to put those in place regardless of what the issue is."

That's perfect politically correct clap-trap. "Balance the needs of every student?" Is there a student who needed to have the anthem banned? I can understand that if, say, there were a Taliban family in Belleisle, New Brunswick, they might be accommodated by being allowed to skip the song. But how is shutting it down for the rest of the kids making everyone feel welcome? It's just PC BS.

But, really. Is it that hard for reporters to take a few seconds and hit Google to find out more about the anthem-banning principal? (UPDATE: I saw CTV's report on this story tonight, and they mentioned Millett's Green Party history.)

For starters, Millett is a serial candidate for the radical Green Party. Here's his website, where he describes his experience as:

a lobbyist and social activist on a number of important national and international issues, including: the anti-apartheid movement, the environment, homelessness, human rights, the rights of indigenous peoples, the liberation of East Timor, nuclear disarmament, as well as being actively involved in the peace movement. 

Gee whiz. A radical disarmanent peacenik orders two girls, whose cousin died fighting in Afghanistan, to stop singing the anthem in his memory. And the media buys the line about anonymous "parents" objecting?

Here's a local story from from when Millett ran in the 2004 federal election. He describes his philosophy and role models thusly:

I am: an ally for gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans-gendered persons; anti- racist; pro-feminist and a pacifist at heart. My political influences and inspiration are drawn from: Ernesto (Che) Guevera, Noam Chomsky, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr., Audrey Lorde, Malcolm X (El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz), Aung San Suu Kyi and Dr. David Suzuki among others.

This is the man in charge of an elementary school.

During one all candidates debate, he took on the local Conservative MP, Greg Thompson -- for the U.S. war on Iraq. The other candidates wore suits. Millett wore a fake biohazard suit, to "wow" the crowd. The amateur thespian lost the room, though, according to this news report: