'That is not acceptable': Montreal mom furious son told to drop his pants at school during search for vaping products
A Montreal mother is outraged that her teenaged had to lower his pants at his school last week during a search for vaping products -- a search that one constitutional rights lawyer said went too far.
Andrew Forgione, a Grade 9 student at LaSalle Community Comprehensive High School, called it a traumatizing experience when he and three other students were implicated in the search, during which he had to lower his pants but not his underwear. All four students are between the ages of 13 and 16.
"I dropped them. I had to grab the side of my boxers, move them around, my waistband to see if anything fell out and I had to turn around and do the same thing in the back," Forgione, 15, told CTV News.
His mother, Laura McCarthy, said when he told her what happened, she was furious.
"When you’re asking a 15-year-old boy to drop his pants, that is not acceptable," she said.
"They could have called the police, they could have called a parent, we were not notified."
BOARD SAID SEARCH WAS 'REGRETTABLE'
School officials did find a vaping pen on Forgione. According to the school board's policy, students are banned from bringing any illicit substances and items onto the premises, including vaping paraphernalia.
However, the school board said an investigation is underway to look into what happened, but says there was "no malicious intent" in the search.
"The Lester B Pearson school board is the first to say at our level this is regrettable. We do not accept this as a means or a way to investigate something like vaping in the washrooms," said Judy Kelley, a chairperson of the Lester B. Pearson School Board.
"Our assistant director general is involved, our regional director is involved. They’re at the school, they’re asking questions. They’re trying to get to the bottom of it."
Lawyer Julius Grey said it's clear to him that a search like this was unreasonable.
"If it’s just vaping stuff and if it’s not something that’s immediately dangerous I think it is going too far," he said.
"It’s one thing to look in a locker, it’s one thing to look inside a desk, it’s another thing to tell somebody to pull down his pants."
Darren Becker, communications director for the school board, told CTV News the school has a right to search students if there are "reasonable grounds."
Becker also stressed that the term "strip search" does not apply to Friday's incident, as students weren't asked to remove all of their clothing, just to lower their pants.
Forgione said he was suspended after the vaping pen was found on him and that going back to school since the incident has been an awkward experience.
"They said that they are investigating but nothing has happened yet and something has to be done," he said.
In the meantime, his mother is also concerned about how the experience might affect her son at his school.
"No adult has the right to tell a child to drop his pants. No one," she said.
"I’m not proud of the fact that he had a vaporizing pen on him. But I think that they should have went about it in the right way. They should have notified the parents, someone should have been there with him."
With files from CTV News' Matt Grillo
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NEW Keeping these exotic pets is 'cruel' and 'dangerous,' Canadian animal advocates say
Canadian pet owners are finding companionship beyond dogs and cats. Tigers, alligators, scorpions and tarantulas are among some of the exotic pets they are keeping in private homes, which pose risks to public safety and animal welfare, advocates say.
NEW Life got in the way of one woman's reunion with her father, but a DNA test gained her a family
Anne Marie Cavner was the closest she'd ever been to meeting her biological father, but then life dealt her a blow. From an unexpected loss to a host of new relationships, a DNA test changed her life, and she doesn't regret a thing.
Doctors ask Liberal government to reconsider capital gains tax change
The Canadian Medical Association is asking the federal government to reconsider its proposed changes to capital gains taxation, arguing it will affect doctors' retirement savings.
How quietly promised law changes in the 2024 federal budget could impact your day-to-day life
The 2024 federal budget released last week includes numerous big spending promises that have garnered headlines. But, tucked into the 416-page document are also series of smaller items, such as promising to amend the law regarding infant formula and to force banks to label government rebates, that you may have missed.
Quebec farmers have been protesting since December. Is anyone listening?
Upset about high interest rates, growing paperwork and heavy regulatory burdens, protesting farmers have become a familiar sight across Quebec since December.
'Catch-and-kill' strategy to be a focus as testimony resumes in Trump hush money case
A veteran tabloid publisher was expected to return to the witness stand Tuesday in Donald Trump's historic hush money trial.
Quebec Health Department reports 28 cases of eye damage linked to solar eclipse
Quebec's Health Department says it has received 28 reports of eye damage related to the April 8 total solar eclipse that passed over southern parts of the province.
Psychologist becomes first person in Peru to die by euthanasia after fighting in court for years
A Peruvian psychologist who suffered from an incurable disease that weakened her muscles and had her confined to her bed for several years, died by euthanasia, her lawyer said Monday, becoming the first person in the country to obtain the right to die with medical assistance.
Diver pinned under water by an alligator figured he had choice. Lose his arm or lose his life
An alligator attacked a diver on April 15 as he surfaced from his dive, nearly out of air. His tank emptied with the gator's jaws crushing the arm he put up in defence.