Saskatoon school janitor linked to both Saskatoon, Prince Albert ‘freedom rallies’

An employee of the Saskatoon Public School Division has been linked to a pair of “freedom rallies” in the province.

A public Facebook post last week by the group Safe Schools Saskatchewan indicated current Saskatoon Public Schools employee Brent Wintringham was a part of the rally in Prince Albert on April 17.

In a photo shared by paNOW’s Jeff D’Andrea, Wintringham can be seen speaking to the crowd under the name R.B. Ham, a moniker the man appears to go under on social media.

The rally has since been the subject of a “risk of exposure” by the Saskatchewan Health Authority as well, telling all attendees of the rally to self-isolate immediately, and contact their doctor or HealthLine 811.

Speaker R.B. Ham talks to the Prince Albert Freedom Rally crowd on April 17 outside of the Queen’s Bench courthouse. (Jeff D’Andrea/paNOW Staff)

In Safe Schools Saskatchewan’s post, the group identifies Wintringham as the nighttime caretaker at Hugh Cairns School.

That worries Amanda Harder, who has had two children at Hugh Cairns within the past five years. Her youngest is expected to begin at the school in the fall.

Harder also identified Wintringham in the posts as the nighttime janitor at the school.

“I was tagged in a few posts, and I was getting sent them on Facebook, just from other parents at Hugh Cairns,” she said. “I recognized him right away.

“It has got us quite worried, to the point where we’re considering not sending (my children) back if he’s still employed at the school. We already know that he’s breaking the laws by attending these gatherings. He’s not following public health orders, which makes me think, ‘How serious is he really taking this?’ and ‘How serious does he take the staff’s health (and) the students’ health?’ ”

Harder said she hopes Wintringham is “severely reprimanded” due to his involvement with the “freedom rallies.”

“(It) feels a bit backwards. He’s the one that’s supposed to be sanitizing and cleaning, (but) how well is he doing his job when morally and ethically he doesn’t actually believe it? … His views don’t align with the rest of the school board, so why is he even still working?” she added.

Harder said if Wintringham continues working at the school, she is looking to continue working from home, along with homeschooling her three children.

“How can I feel confident in somebody who’s there, with their views (that) are not aligning with mine?” she said.

Wintringham’s brother, Greg, identified Brent and confirmed it was him who was participating in the rallies. Greg told 650 CKOM Brent works for the school board and is a former trucker who has no affiliation whatsoever with Greg’s business, Wintringham Roofing.

“Brent is a very outspoken guy. He has a lot of different kinds of beliefs throughout his life, and he’s not afraid to share them with people, that’s for sure,” Greg said Tuesday.

“He flies under his own flag, and his belief system is his belief system and it’s not shared by anyone else in our family.”

Saskatoon Public Schools said it could not confirm that Wintringham works at the school, citing privacy reasons.

“With private health information, we can’t be speaking to particular positive cases and who the individuals involved are,” said Veronica Baker, the manager of communications and marketing for the division.

“We shared some information with families on Sunday … just because we know there have been a lot of concerns raised about individuals who may not be respecting public health orders outside of school. So we just sent a letter to families to reiterate the stance of the school.”

The letter, obtained by 650 CKOM, states the safety of students and staff members is the division’s priority.

“Saskatoon Public Schools encourages everyone in our school communities to follow provincial public health orders,” the letter reads. “In the school, we have clearly communicated the safety measures and expectations, which all employees must comply with during work hours and inside our building …

“If the school division is aware of a student or staff member being ordered to self-isolate, the individual is prohibited from entering the school for the extent of the order. Additional cleaning in the school would also be completed upon learning of the isolation order.”

The school also issued an outbreak letter Sunday, revealing three cases have been identified at the facility. Classes will continue as scheduled.

Although Wintringham did attend the Prince Albert rally, photos obtained by 650 CKOM show the man attending Saturday’s rally in Saskatoon’s Kiwanis Park. 

Baker said any individual who is directed to self-isolate is prohibited from entering the school.

When asked why the letter was sent out, Baker had a response.

“It would be fair to say that there’s concerns being raised by members of the school community. We just wanted them to know that we are aware of the situation and to reassure them,” she said.

No tickets from Saturday’s rally have been issued as of Tuesday, but Saskatoon police said charges were anticipated from the event.

650 CKOM also reached out to Wintringham for comment, but didn’t receive a response by the time of publication.

— With files from 650 CKOM’s Brent Bosker