MONTREAL -- A high school on the West Island of Montreal is recalling its recently printed yearbooks over a racist joke in its pages.
Copies of the yearbook for Lindsay Place High School, in the suburb of Pointe-Claire, had been printed with a Black student's name and picture, identifying them as having been voted most likely to become a wanted criminal.
A sticker had been placed over the photo in each copy, on which an apology was printed, saying “An error was made that does not reflect the values of Lindsay Place High School.”
A video circulated on Instagram of the sticker being peeled off. A caption on the video said the student was aware they had been voted for the category, but didn't believe the school would print it.
In an email to CTV News, Principal Kerry-Anne Payette said she had invited the student's parents to meet with the administration to apologize in person and "engage in further discussion about the incident and restorative action."
Payette said a message was sent to the parents of all 100 graduates to let them know of the yearbook recall and that reprinted editions without the racist content would be distributed in the fall.
In a statement posted to Facebook on Friday, Payette and Vice-Principal Brigitte Valois apologized to the student and their family, saying the yearbook company had assured them the sticker could not be removed.
“Despite taking these preventative steps, we learned last night that some grad students who received their copies yesterday, were able to remove the sticker and unveil the inappropriate survey category,” the administrators said in their statement. “We regret that this has unfolded and will be taking action to ensure that this does not happen again."
