A teenager kicked out of a private school on the West Island when a lunch monitor misheard what he was telling pals is now suing the school. He says he was racially profiled as a terrorist.
La Presse reports that the grade eleven student joked to friends about jumping off a balcony because of a bad mark on an assignment but the lunch monitor caught only one word : "sauter". In French, sauter can mean to jump, or, in a different context, to blow up.
The monitor reported the remark to the administration at Collège Charlemagne, fearing the teen intended to blow up the school. The boy was expelled and the police called.
It was only several months later that the Crown admitted it had no evidence a threat had been made - in fact, the student's friends had all corroborated his explanation. A charge of uttering threats was dropped.
In the interim, the teen had been forced to change schools, didn't get into the CEGEP program he wanted and lost contact with American schools who'd been eyeing him for an elite sports program.
He is seeking $75,000 compensation.