Public discourse drives societies, and it has evolved over time through faith, science and reason. Responsible Canadian citizens are looked upon from around the world to promote human dignity, particularly when working in public service. Unfortunately, this continues to be a difficult concept for some to understand.

On November 11, 2020, the TCDSB held a special board meeting to address Mike Del Grande “MDG” misconduct, as proven in a recently released external investigative report, that the board previously chose to defy and exonerate him of on August 20, 2020.

Among institutional issues that need to be addressed, I delegated live at the board to ask why washing student surveys of pertinent LGBTQ+ specific identity data was still happening, and suggested they appoint an Advisory Committee with equity professionals and LGBTQ+ stakeholders to assist (in fulfilling their Equity Action Plan). Former Premier of Ontario Kathleen Wynne also delegated support of LGBTQ staff, students and families that have been harmed by the dialogue that has transpired at board, and it was a very insightful experience for most.

The full meeting video is located here. 
Delegations begin at 1:51:00 after many attempted filibusters. 

Ms. Wynne shared that most LGBTQ people “live in silence and fear”, and society as a whole still has much work to do. She also took note of the “poisoned environment” caused by the words of MDG, noting the broad brush the entire board has been painted with is one of great shame… also stating she believes it can be resolved, but only through acknowledgement of the hurt and effort towards rectifying the mistakes made.

Other notable points were an “Intent vs Impact'' statement by trustee Di Pasquale around 5:38:00, trustee De Dominco around 5:41:00 clarified for those unaware, that despite denominational rights, “We do not have the right to remove other’s human rights”. As well, Julie Annmarie DiNunzio from TECT, representing 5000+ elementary school teachers, expressed the need for “transparency and fulsome disclosure” of this incident to move forward.

One of the delegates representing CLC spoke on “Del Grande’s behalf” (according to his registration form), and cherry-picked a Catechism quote on homosexuality with clear intent to weaponize it to promote bigotry. He tried to justify MDG’s harmful speech by comparing his words to that of the catechism (let that sink in). This happened despite it already being released that the external report found MDG to be in violation of his code of conduct trustees must uphold, and CLC's awareness of the Human Rights Code requirements that the TCDSB had already debated a year prior. Noticing his intent was to deliberately pile on to the harm already caused by MDG, he was stopped by trustee Di Pasquale and asked to wrap up his delegation by trustee Martino in a responsible and respectful manor.

The community have since witnessed CLC’s relentless fallacies, in one they describe the event as trustees “shouted down a reading of the Catechism”. With their friends at Corriere Canadese, a secular Italian-Canadian tabloid that spews similar toxicity, they have been demanding their supporters withhold donations to the church until Archdiocese of Toronto, Cardinal Collins, makes a statement condemning this (false) attack.... and instead donate to none other than MDG’s legal fund. This campaign messaging has alluded to targeting the board and its stakeholders with civil lawsuits for being involved in investigator's findings… and is likely putting MDG in violation of various codes, including the Municipal Elections Act. It's no wonder they think the rules don’t apply - these bad faith characters have repeatedly challenged rules without consequence.

The pressure from CLC must have been loud enough, as the Archdiocese of Toronto, Cardinal Collins, released a letter scolding the board for interrupting the delegate that quoted the catechism. Since he didn't mention that he supports MDG's comparison of LGBTQ students to beastiality, cannibals and rapists, or the delegate comparing the catechism to these words, it is unclear whether he is aware of the actual events that have unfolded recently. One Catholic teacher worries this letter just “killed Catholic education in Ontario,” and his opinion echoes the sentiments of many others who have spoken up both publicly and privately (due to fear of reprisal).

To suggest that trustees speaking out about the negative impact of another trustee’s behaviour has on a very large part of the community, as their duty of care requires them to, is asinine. The impact these offensive actions from a publicly elected official, in the very public forum they service the public through, is undeniable. Marginalized staff, youth, families, allies and the community alike have expressed their hurt and disapproval repeatedly, without recourse. It has become clear this language of rejection can never be undone.

Members and allies of the LGBTQ community are all around us. They are our doctors, police officers, neighbours, coworkers and in our families. They are in our churches, running our banks and caring for our disabled and elderly. What would you say if a representative of any one of these services refused to protect your child or loved one based on a protected group such as religion, gender, disability or race?

Personally, some important lessons I have taken in as a Catholic student, and having worked in Christian Ministry for years are 1) blessed are the most vulnerable among us - we will be judged by the way we treat them, 2) Kindness always wins, and 3) true love is unconditional.

ACTION ALERTS:

We encourage leadership named in this petition to please respond and allow your voice to be heard by the students, staff, families and allies that have been hurt through all this. The only way we will overcome this reprehensible situation of special interest groups perpetuating hate propaganda and pushing to be so deeply involved in education through trustees is by: staying informed, sharing our concerns and mobilizing at election time.

If you are concerned about the public discourse crisis surround this, and our leaders in public service getting caught up in falsehoods spread by special interest groups, please consider sharing your thoughts with the below people.

TCDSB Trustees
Director of Education at TCDSB
Archdiocese of Toronto
Ontario Ministry of Education
Ombudsman of Ontario

For those that would prefer to keep their families on the dark side of history and not embrace inclusiveness, there are plenty of private Catholic school options that may have less legal obligations to respect human rights and the dignity of all humans.