中文版联署书請至 (Petition in Chinese) https://tinyurl.com/ccncto-aar-action

SIGN this petition to SUPPORT the request by the Chinese Canadian National Council Toronto Chapter (CCNCTO) and the Urban Alliance on Race Relations (UARR) for a motion to be passed with a commitment to develop a strategy and action plan to dismantle anti-Asian racism in the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) and the York Region District School Board (YRDSB).

Who We Are:

CCNCTO has been working with Chinese Canadians in the Greater Toronto Area since 1980 to promote equity, social justice, inclusive civic participation, and respect for diversity. We are advocating alongside East Asian youth and their parents, guardians, and caregivers who have spoken up about their experiences of anti-Asian racism both in TDSB and YRDSB schools.

UARR works with diverse community organizations to address racism in the education system. In addition to working with CCNCTO, they are also working with Muslim and Black communities to address Islamophobia and anti-Black racism in various school boards. 

Why Do We Need An Anti-Asian Racism Motion and Strategy?:

The rise of anti-Asian racism hurts Asian children, youth, families, and community members. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, CCNCTO was among the first groups in Canada to collect data on the growing number of anti-Asian hate incidents. By collecting this data, we began filling a gap in data that has for a long time allowed governments and institutions to maintain plausible deniability about systemic anti-Asian racism. While our community research has been cited by all levels of government, academics, and school boards, we know that work and change on the ground needs to be pushed forward. 

Issues of anti-Asian racism are far from new or surprising in our community but have been uncovered through conversations with our community members in the past two years. Over the past two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen a rise in anti-Asian racism and violence towards the East-Asian population across the country.

Between the period of March 2020 to February 2021, we collected 1,150 incidents of racism through our anti-Asian racism reporting platform. In 2021, anti-Asian racism incident reports from children and youth (aged under 18) represented a 286% increase compared to 2020, with many incidents happening in schools. Most recently, our newest community research report '2020 in Hindsight' found that experiences of anti-Asian racism were pervasive among community members across age groups and genders. While many folks were not always forthcoming in voicing their experiences, many shared a sense of "Wu Nai" (无奈; hopelessness/helplessness) in part because of a lack of awareness in school and society about anti-Asian racism.

CCNCTO recognizes the importance of working with school boards, as education plays a significant role in the lives of children and youth — they spend the majority of their day at school. Anti-Asian sentiment and racism exist systemically within our schools and also through the everyday interactions that children, youth, and their parents/guardians/caregivers have with their peers, teachers, and other school staff. Furthermore, through consultation and important conversations with high school students and their parents/guardians/caregivers in our community over the past few years, it has come to light that Asian students are facing anti-Asian racism and discrimination at school from their peers, teachers, and administrators, and consequently, suffer from challenges related to mental health. Furthermore, there is a lack of accountability when it comes to addressing anti-Asian racism and discrimination.

Quotes from anonymous community members:

• “When I asked the principal to kindly pull up his mask he refused to, while also saying that ‘his kind’ was not the one that started the virus.”
• “My daughter's white classmate said to her, "I hate Chinese people!" during a Grade 4 class on the cusp of the pandemic. My daughter reported this to their white teacher who then yelled to the white classmate, "<name of student>, be quiet!" and that was the end of that. There was no speaking to the white student or the class about offensive racist comments and how this can hurt people. There was no lesson learned.”
• “It occurs mostly every day but in the least expected place you think it would happen. It happened in school, and no not teachers, the other kids my age [are] being racist saying ch*ng ch*ng, calling me a ch**k, and making their eyes small.”
• “During the pandemic, many people were afraid of Chinese people and spread a lot of misinformation or hurtful remarks”
• “When students are the victims of discrimination or bullying, those in positions of power (principals, teachers) do nothing to help”
• “When racism is reported, staff should ensure to take the concerns seriously and take real action”
• "Anti-Asian racism has been prevalent throughout all steps in my educational journey...Existing as one of the few Asian folks in spaces is hard, exhaustive, and isolating....Within schooling, we must move beyond awareness and towards acceptance of the massive Asian diaspora that is represented in the Toronto schools. This means having clear policies and curriculum expectations that reflect the real lived experiences of radicalized students."
• "As an East Asian educator of a public school board, I've seen, heard and personally experienced interactions among teachers where the East Asian adult was not perceived as the figure of authority or someone with experience in the classroom, despite their positions as homeroom teachers, school administrators and consultants...While this discrimination tends to be subtle, its daily occurrence has made East Asian teachers feel inferior and disrespected."
• "Unfortunately, the lack of support I received from educators critically impacted the way I grew up and view myself to this day."

From our conversations with community members, it's clear that the impact on youths’ well-being is exacerbated when their experience of encountering anti-Asian racism is dismissed and invalidated by adults, including teachers, administration, and even their own parents, who often lack the awareness about and the tools to address anti-Asian racism. Moreover, we know that newcomer families face additional challenges, such as language barriers and insufficient or barriers to accessing resources, when attempting to navigate systems and processes within their schools when their needs are not being met. 

The students and families in our community are falling through the cracks of the education system in the TDSB and YRDSB. 

What Do We Want?:

The TDSB and YRDSB need to address and combat anti-Asian racism by committing to developing a comprehensive strategy and action plan immediately.

A motion should be passed by the Toronto District School Board and the York Region District School Board to put forward a concrete action plan with dedicated resources and a detailed timeline for addressing anti-Asian racism in the TDSB and YRDSB. This action plan should:

• Acknowledge and condemn the existence and prevalence of anti-Asian racism within the both school boards; 
• Ensure allocated funding to solidify the board’s commitment to dismantling anti-Asian racism (this funding could go towards an AAR task force and/or hiring new staff)
• Conduct further meaningful, culturally competent, and linguistically accessible community consultations 
  • Consultations should be collaborative and center community expertise from research and writing phases to recommendations
• Push forward curriculum change to reflect the diversity of classrooms - creating culturally responsive and relevant pedagogy
• Increase the supports provided to parents and students, including:
  • Culturally-sensitive mental health supports
  • Accessible resources for folks to participate in consultations
  • Various supports for newcomers & international students 

As the TDSB and YRDSB both have a significant population of East Asian students, families, community members, and staff, this comprehensive strategy is necessary for the well-being and success of our children, youth, families, and communities and is LONG overdue.

Please sign the petition to support our efforts and show the TDSB and YRDSB that action needs to be taken NOW!

Sincerely,

Chinese Canadian National Council Toronto Chapter (CCNCTO) (ccnctoronto.ca)

Urban Alliance of Race Relations (UARR) (urbanalliance.ca)