A high school in Prince George, British Columbia, "acted swiftly" after a photo spread on social media showing a student as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in blackface for Halloween.
The photo shows the student in what appears to be a classroom with his hands and face painted black, a bed sheet wrapped around his head like a turban, and sporting a name tag that read "Trudeau," Prince George Matters reports.
Anita Richardson, the school's superintendent, said in an email to Prince George Matters that the student's "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."
Tim Bennett, a local school trustee and chair of the Prince George Board of Education, took to Twitter to announce his disappointment with the "inappropriate Halloween costume." Both Bennett and Richardson pledged to provide further education on "anti-racist behaviour."
The incident comes more than a year after it was revealed that Justin Trudeau wore blackface on at least three separate occasions while he was both a student in Montreal and a teacher in Vancouver.
While the initial revelation only showed him in blackface while working as a teacher in Vancouver, Trudeau later admitted that he had worn blackface once prior to the incident while performing Day-O for a high school talent show.
After a third incident of blackface was revealed, Trudeau said he did not recall how many times he sported the makeup, which has been widely regarded as racist for decades.
The student appeared to be specifically referencing Trudeau's costume worn at the Arabian Nights gala while Trudeau was teaching at West Point Grey Academy.
It is not the first time a student has been reprimanded for dressing as Justin Trudeau in blackface. Last year, a black student in Colorado was disciplined for dressing as the Prime Minister, according to Campus Reform. "As you can see, I cannot take off my blackface so adding on another shade, in my opinion, doesn't change anything," the student said when discussing the incident.
