Ford asks education ministry to probe TDSB field trip to protest

Ontario's ministry of education is investigating a Toronto District School Board field trip that saw students from 15 schools attend a protest on mercury contamination that is affecting a First Nation community in the north.

Premier Doug Ford said Wednesday he had asked Education Minister Jill Dunlop to investigate, saying kids shouldn't be at protests and should instead be in school learning math, spelling, geography and history.

The Grassy Narrows River Run march last week was held to pressure the government to address decades-long mercury contamination in Grassy Narrows First Nation since a paper mill in Dryden, Ont., dumped 9,000 kilograms of the substance into the river systems in the 1960s.

Videos on social media showed some march participants chanting pro-Palestinian slogans, which prompted Ford earlier this week to call it a "Palestinian rally" and complain that teachers were trying to indoctrinate children.

Dunlop said in a statement that the board has failed to take swift and decisive action and she wants to see those responsible held accountable.

The TDSB said in a written statement that it is reviewing field trip procedures and has told schools that students should not be participating in organized protests, rallies or marches during school-related outings.

TDSB says it will co-operate fully with ministry probe

At a special meeting on Wednesday evening, TDSB trustees voted unanimously to co-operate fully with the provincial investigation.

Louise Sirisko, the board's acting director of education, said the board received many reports of concerns about the field trip on Sept. 18, which was organized as an educational experience to enable students to hear Indigenous voices about the "ongoing challenges" facing the Grassy Narrows community.

"We take these concerns very seriously. We too have concerns about what occurred in relation to this excursion and believe additional information is necessary to properly assess the situation," Sirisko said.

Sirisko said the TDSB has suspended its internal investigation to allow the board to concentrate on co-operating with the ministry's investigator.

"We live in complex times where our connectedness to world events happens in real time, on the streets and through social media and technology," she added. 

Trustee Alexandra Lulka Rotman said the TDSB failed all of its students, not only Jewish students, by taking a group of them to the event.

"To be completely clear, the antisemitism displayed was heinous, the hurt is profound, the humiliation of our children is unforgivable," Lulka Rotman said. "And the work of restoring the broken trust between this board and the Jewish community is something that will need to be addressed."

Chants not focus of event, parent says

Andrea Thompson, a parent of two students who go to TDSB schools, attended the Grassy Narrows River Walk. She said she saw about 30 students who appeared to be about 11 to 13 years of age at the protest. They were not chanting or carrying signs but were walking along with the other demonstrators, Thompson added.

Thompson said the event is being misrepresented.

"People are saying that it was co-opted by an anti-Israel message, which I saw no evidence of. Sometimes when you attend these events, the organizer will kind of say out a chant and then you're welcome to say the chant with them or remain silent. And some of the chants expressed solidarity to the Palestinian people," Thompson said.

"However, I saw no evidence of that being the central message of the protest. It really was focused on Grassy Narrows and on clean drinking water and on Indigenous voices."

Thompson said the chant took up only a brief portion of the event and no child was forced to repeat the chants.

The event was worthwhile for the students who attended because it provided a learning experience, Thompson added.

"I feel it's deeply important that our children are exposed to Indigenous voices and they learn about Canadian history and unfortunately Canadian history includes Indigenous oppression. And we need to meet those uncomfortable truths. And I am disappointed that it's being represented in a way that the rally was about Israel and Palestine, which is not the case."

Schools being 'neutral' may not be possible: prof

Sachin Maharaj, assistant professor of educational leadership, policy and program evaluation at the University of Ottawa, said schools play a role in teaching children about the issues of the day in the society in which they live.

"In my view, schools have always played a role in socializing students in ever-changing social and political norms. And whether someone calls that indoctrination or not often depends on whether they agree with the values that are being imparted to students," he said.

"There's an idea that schools should somehow be politically neutral or not involved in any of these issues. But I don't think that has ever been the case, and I don't think that's even possible. One of the purposes of schools has always been to socialize the next generation of kids into our modern societal values, which change over time. And so, we're always taking some sort of political stance in our schools." 

He said nobody is worked up that the students attended an event about Grassy Narrows because there's broad-based consensus that Indigenous rights are a legitimate issue of concern.

At the meeting trustees also decided that the board chair will write a letter to the ministry asking it to finish the investigation "in a timely manner," ideally by Dec. 1, and provide monthly updates on the status until it's completed.

The letter from the board chair will also ask the investigator to include recommendations to support a review of relevant policies and procedures, taking into account curriculum requirements and the board's obligations to the Ontario Human Rights Code, Education Act, Truth and Reconciliation calls to action and its multi-year strategic plan.