On November 10, 2020 the provincial Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) communications released a member survey that was positioned as an attempt to “address and eliminate systemic racism”, and which instead caused more harm to its BIPOC members and communities. The survey asked respondents to give their opinion on topics, including whether or not they agree that having police in schools can have a “devastating effect” on Black students and their opinions on streaming, two practices that already have a large body of research demonstrating their negative impacts on Black and Indigenous communities.

Two days after the survey release, recently appointed executives of OSSTF District 19 spoke to Harvey Bischof, the provincial president, to address concerns that had been brought to them by members and the Black community. These executives were Judy McKeown, the Disrupting Anti-Black Racism Training Officer, Gord Gallimore, the Racism Reporting Officer, and Nicole Luinenburg, the Anti-Racism Intersectional Officer. All three executives stressed that having the survey remain accessible was further causing harm to its BIPOC members and the community, and requested that the survey immediately be removed to avoid replicating the systemic racism that the union is allegedly seeking to address.

Concerns raised included:

• the provincial union relying more on member opinion than evidence to inform decision-making around addressing anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism
• relying on a largely White membership, which would not have the lived experience and likely not the educated knowledge, to inform the union policies and practices with regards to addressing racism within the union
• the lack of representation by Black and Indigenous members in the provincial OSSTF executive that are involved in this initiative, and the lack of representation in general
• a lack of data to understand the experiences of Black, Indigenous, and racialized members within their workplaces and the union
• the existence of working groups meant to address racism that routinely do not include representation from these groups, and which have no metrics to determine whether the work is improving the lives of Black, Indigenous, and racialized members
• the lack of any time-release positions at a provincial level meant to address anti-Black racism, anti-Indigenous racism, racism and oppression within its structures or membership.
• a consistent messaging within OSSTF that the existing procedures and policies continue to be followed, regardless of their impact on Black, Indigenous, and racialized members and the community.

We, the undersigned, are demanding the immediate removal of the member survey as it continues to support the same racist structures that it claims to be trying to dismantle. We also insist that the provincial OSSTF engage with a larger community of its Black, Indigenous, and racialized members regarding any future initiatives, policies or procedures that relate to addressing racism and which have an impact on those members. For the union to address oppression beyond any performative actions, it must immediately disrupt the current structures and processes which continue to harm Black, Indigenous and racialized members and community.

The time to address racial injustice in education is long past due. The union must do its part to ensure the human rights of its BIPOC members and the communities its members serve are upheld.