The local school district says it intervened immediately after a photo of a Prince George high-school student dressed in blackface spread on social media.
The student in the image appears to have painted their face and hands black, wrapped a towel or sheet on their head in the form of a turban and wrote 'Trudeau' on a sticker on their shirt.
This comes more than a year after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was criticized after a photo surfaced of him wearing blackface at an Arabian Nights-themed gala when he was a teacher at Vancouver's West Point Grey Academy in 2001.
In an email to PrinceGeorgeMatters, School District 57 (SD57) Superintendent Anita Richardson says PGSS administration dealt with the incident earlier today.
"This behaviour is an obvious violation of the school (Policy 5131.7) and district (Policy 5131) student codes of conduct as well as district policy 4116.14 - Multiculturalism, Racial Harmony and Anti-racism and will be responded to accordingly."
She adds the school will continue to engage in conversations with students on the subject of inclusivity and anti-racist behaviours.
Richardson says as a student is involved with the violation, no further comment could be made on any actions taken, citing confidentiality between PGSS, SD57 and the student's family.
Schools have an important role to play and will continue to engage in conversations with students about the need for inclusive, anti discriminatory and anti-racist behaviours. #SD57 @SD57PG
— Tim Bennett (@tiben12) October 31, 2020
