A Lakehead Public School (Thunder Bay, Ontario) Board employee has been suspended and a mother is seeking legal counsel after her seven-year-old son's hair was cut while he was at school.
The mother reported the incident to police shortly after it happened, Thunder Bay police spokesman Chris Adams said Thursday.
The boy complained to his mother that a teaching assistant had cut his hair on April 16.
Police interviewed the boy, his mother, the school principal and the teaching assistant, and then consulted with the Crown's office about the possibility of laying an assault charge, Adams said.
The mother of the boy, who is aboriginal, called the teaching assistant's actions "culturally disrespectful," according to information that outlines the incident.
David MacKenzie, an assistant Crown attorney, said the decision to not lay an assault charge was made with strict accordance to Crown policy.
That policy outlines the need for both a reasonable prospect of conviction and a public interest before a charge is laid.
The boy was in a computer lab reading when a teaching assistant observed the student having difficulty seeing due to the length of his bangs.
The teaching assistant took the boy into the hall and trimmed a small amount off his bangs with scissors.
When the boy went home after school, his mother noticed he was upset and then realized his hair had been cut.
The school employee admitted she had cut the student's bangs, and she was suspended from her job.
There was no evidence the teaching assistant cut the boy's hair for any reason other than helping him to see better.
"We view this as a very unfortunate incident," said Bruce Nugent, a school board spokesman.
The mother has hired Toronto lawyer Julian Falconer, who specializes in human rights and has handled northwestern Ontario cases before.
Falconer was unavailable for comment Thursday.
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