TCDSB trustees voted to dismiss the many complaints against Mike Del Grande “MD” that resulted from his vile and offensive argument during a November 2019 Board Meeting. He had ultimately conveyed that LGBTQ+ youth and families at the board are equally as deserving of protections as a pre-written 12-page list of outrageous and criminal acts, such as pedophilia and cannibalism. This happened in a public forum, in a last ditch effort to protest the board adhering to human rights laws verbiage in their policies.
After a petition with over 2K signatures for MD to be censured and multiple official complaints filed, the community was left to wait in limbo for nearly ten months. During this time MD received an award for his actions from the CLC and published an op-ed on their website lifesitenews that doubled down on his statements, now referring to the LGBTQ+ community as evil. Various board members assured the concerned public that the ‘Integrity Commissioner’ or ‘External Investigator’ they hired would help with the dysfunction everyone was witnessing in real time.
However, on August 20th, 2020, during another late night board meeting vote, the decision on whether MD breached his code of conduct as a Trustee (and would be sanctioned in any way) was quickly on and off the table without discussion or explanation; effectively silencing complaints.
Of the 12 (11 excluding the offender), 7 trustees agreed that MD was in breach of the Code of Conduct, and 4 trustees did not. In order to pass agreement on a COC violation, ⅔ of the trustees need to vote in favour. Since ⅔ of 11 is 7 ⅓, they were short ⅓ or 0.3 of a trustee vote. Not surprisingly, 3 of the 4 trustees were his human rights opposing posse: Trustees Tanuan, Lubinski and Crawford. The 4th being a former Ontario Nurse, Trustee Kennedy, who previously claimed (contrary to the Education Act) trustee “reputation” was grounds enough to keep public complaints private in response to this matter.
It is undeniable that systemic discrimination exists within the TCDSB. It will continue to be fuelled through situations like these, when witnesses remain complicit and trustees are left without the need to abide by the codes in place.
During this August meeting, there were at least three delegates advocating against systemic anti-black racism within the board. Mark Kirk provided testimony to the oppression he has witnessed being on the board’s African Canadian Advisory Committee. He expressed disappointment with TCDSB’s Equity Action Plan implementation and requested more intentionality and accountability on it. All comments echoed sentiments from an article published earlier this summer, where TCDSB students of colour describe firsthand knowledge of the struggles that exist for them.
Many people are suffering right now as the pandemic has further exposed vulnerabilities in our communities, across Toronto and the world. This is why we are committed to staying engaged on the human rights and equity issues raised in this petition, and will keep it open until acknowledged in a more meaningful way, so we can declare victory!
LOCAL SUPPORTERS:
Some parents have suggested that a database with TCDSB trustee voting records on human rights and equity issues be created, so we have committed to doing that. Whether you are a stakeholder and would like to make an informed vote in the 2022 elections or are just curious, please send an email to lgbtqtoronto@gmail.com to be added to the list receiving the database link when it's ready.