The chair of the York Catholic District School Board (YCDSB) has had her pay docked and must attend governance training after she was found to have created a “toxic and poisoned” workplace.
In a 36-page report, board integrity commissioner Daniela Corapi investigated two complaints submitted by trustees Elizabeth Crowe and Theresa McNicol against Maria Iafrate in January.
The complaints were brought forward separately, but investigated together due to their overlap, and spanned nine instances in which Iafrate was accused of breaching the board’s Trustee Code of Conduct.
Corapi found that, of the nine instances under investigation, most of which focused Iafrate’s tumultuous relationship with then-Director of Education, John De Faveri, only three met the threshold of violating the code.
The instances in which Iafrate was found to have broken the code of conduct were all between October and December, 2025.
The YCDSB was placed under provincial supervision on March 5, 2026 due to what the Ontario government said at that time were “serious financial challenges and ongoing leadership issues.”
“Such conduct contributed to a toxic environment and cannot be minimized as mere error. Chair Iafrate made no admission of wrongdoing and has not shown remorse to date, although she was entitled to defend herself vigorously and did so,” Corapi wrote.
In one incident on Dec. 3, 2025, De Faveri said he interacted with Iafrate and several school principals in passing during the monthly Director’s Council meeting. In an interview with the integrity commissioner, De Faveri stated that Iafrate did not look at him during the brief interaction but “muttered something that sounded hostile under her breath.”
“Later that afternoon, [redacted] informed him that a school principal had called [redacted], deeply disturbed, to report that as soon as he had walked away, Chair Iafrate turned and said: “I really hate that guy and I want to get him fired, so I’m gonna fire him,” the report reads.
“In [redacted] formal interview, Principal #1 stated that [redacted] was present in the lobby on December 3, 2025, and directly overheard Chair Iafrate use profane and disparaging language regarding the Director, stating he’s “gotta get out of here” and calling him a “f***ing piece of sh*t.”
Iafrate rejected the allegations in her interview with the integrity commissioner, saying that she never used the word “fired.”
When another principal told her they had heard that she hated De Faveri and wanted to see him replaced, she “vehemently denied” the accusation.
The report points out that De Faveri, who retired in June, had launched a harassment complaint against Iafrate at some point before the incident took place.
In another incident, on Nov. 3, 2025, Crowe gave evidence of a text message sent by Iafrate which referred to the harassment complaint and read: “Also, I want to make it clear that when it is confirmed in writing that all these allegations are false I will move to have him terminated with cause. I just want to make sure that [is] very clear that is where I’m going.”
Separately, McNicol provided evidence that Iafrate “openly broadcasted her hatred of the director and her intention to terminate his contract to senior staff members.” The report noted that Iafrate and McNicol have been engaged in a “prolonged and serious interpersonal conflict” that has repeatedly resulted in formal code proceedings.
While Iafrate admitted to sending the text message, she said it was done out of “extreme frustration” and noted that board policy dictates that an employee may be terminated if they lodge a complaint that is proven to be frivolous or vexatious.
She denied saying that she “hated” him.
The third incident in which Iafrate was accused of breaching the code of conduct (much of which is redacted) pertains to, among other things, a private meeting on Oct. 27, 2025, where she, another trustee, and an individual whose name is redacted, met to discuss the board’s Italian program without the director’s knowledge.
In his testimony, De Faveri stated that the meeting represented a “clear bypass of his authority” and noted she sent emails accusing his staff of making “clear errors” on reports to set them up for ministry scrutiny.
‘Very, very, very, frustrating’: Ontario education minister
Ontario Education Minister Paul Calandra commented on the report on Thursday, saying reading through its findings was “very, very, very frustrating.”
“We hear all the ‘Oh, you know, we’re in it for the kids.’ No, in some of these boards, they’re in it to fight each other and to gain a little leverage over another trustee,” he told reporters at Queen’s Park.
“It’s not why they’re supposed to be there. And I wish I could say that (YCDSB) was the only board where this happened. We see this over and over and over again. Trustees spend so much time fighting each other as opposed to doing what they’re supposed to do, and advocate on behalf of students, parents, and teachers.”
The report was issued on Aug. 25, but only recently made public. Asked for the reasoning behind that decision, a spokesperson for the YCDSB told CTV News said that the delay was “in consideration of the timing” of the recent municipal election when school trustees were on the ballot.
CTV News has reached out to Iafrate for comment but has not received a response.
Her pay has been docked for a period of 30 days and she must attend a course on board governance training within six months of the report’s release as a result of the integrity commissioner’s findings.
Iafrate was acclaimed in Monday’s municipal election.
