B.C. principal who spanked student, made anti-Indigenous comments receives suspension

Akshay Kulkarni · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 17, 2025 8:36 PM EDT | Last Updated: 8 hours ago

A former principal astatine a B.C. simple school has been suspended for 3 days and ordered to instrumentality 2 acquisition courses aft she spanked a First Nations student, according to a consent solution statement posted by the B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation. 

Pehgee Agnes Boholst Aranas, who was employed by a First Nation at a certified set school, was archetypal reported to the commissioner successful December 2023.

It came a period aft she spanked a Grade 1 student. The sanction of the schoolhouse was not disclosed successful the statement to support the student's identity.

In January 2024, Aranas signed an undertaking to forestall astir each carnal interaction with immoderate pupil astatine immoderate schoolhouse wherever she was working. 

The First Nation ended her employment astatine the schoolhouse successful May of that year. 

After signing the consent agreement, her teaching certificate has been suspended for 3 days and she has agreed to instrumentality a course on creating a affirmative learning situation and different connected systemic racism.

"Her actions perpetuated the harmful bequest of carnal maltreatment successful Indian Residential Schools and reflected a content successful harmful stereotypes," the commissioner wrote successful the consent agreement.

"Her actions harmed [the student], negatively impacted the community's feelings of spot and information successful the acquisition strategy and did not lend towards truth, reconciliation and healing."

Principal claimed parents approved

In November 2023, aft the spanking of the Grade 1 student, an worker — known successful the statement arsenic Employee A — reported Aranas to administrators.

According to the consent agreement, Aranas met with members of the First Nation soon aft the spanking, and falsely claimed the student's parents approved of her actions.

She also "made comments which were inconsistent with truth, reconciliation and healing."

The statement states that aft the meeting, Aranas was placed connected permission pending an investigation, and was told not to sermon details of the substance with different employees.

"Aranas did not travel the First Nation's direction, and shared details astir what had occurred with [the student] with astatine slightest 2 of her colleagues astatine the school, telling them that Employee A had reported connected her," the statement reads.

In June 2021, the main received a written informing for anti-Indigenous comments she made successful an email to an worker who was sick.

"Suck it up, buttercup!!! The symptoms are conscionable injection symptoms and not existent sickness! Tough autochthonal men similar you person survived worse??? Lol," reads the email quoted successful the consent agreement.

In summation to a three-day suspension, Aranas agreed she would implicit a people astir systemic racism successful Canada done the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, successful summation to a course astir creating a affirmative learning environment.