On June 27, 2025, Ontario's Minister of Education issued a vesting order under the Education Act and assumed control of both the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) and Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board (DPCDSB) due to ongoing financial deficits and related governance concerns.
While boards were taken over due to financial concerns, the underlying governance failures have long put student rights, safety, and well-being at risk.
How Did We Get Here?
2009: Ministry issues PPM 119 (Equity & Inclusive Education), requiring all boards to adopt policies aligned with the Ontario Human Rights Code by 2010.
2010–2011: Public boards comply. Catholic boards, including TCDSB and DPCDSB, resist under pressure from lobby groups like Campaign Life Coalition (CLC) and other “parental rights” organizations.
2011: TCDSB adopts an “equity policy,” but rewrites it to subordinate student rights to Catholic doctrine, weakening protections for students, particularly 2SLGBTQ+ youth. This evasion continues to affect policies, programs, and services today.
2011–present: Trustees, often supported by lobby groups, continue resisting compliance. CLC repeatedly campaigns against legally mandated student protections, misleading families while soliciting donations for a resolved court case they perpetuated.
August 2025: CLC launches a campaign urging families to vote out equity-respecting trustees, falsely framing protections for student rights as a threat to Catholic education and the reason for current supervision status.
Protecting Student Rights Through Election Integrity
Beyond spreading misinformation, lobby groups actively shape trustee elections, enabling boards to continue operating under policies that fail students. That is why we are now calling on the Government of Ontario to amend the Municipal Elections Act to:
- Require third-party advertisers and trustee candidates to sign a declaration of compliance with the Ontario Human Rights Code before registration.
- Prohibit election advertising or platforms that seek to override provincial laws or student rights obligations.
- Increase oversight of third-party advertisers with a proven history of running misleading or discriminatory campaigns.
These reforms would prevent hateful lobby groups (like CLC) from repeatedly manipulating trustee elections at the expense of student safety, well-being, and access to legally required programs and services.
Trustee Accountability
Despite these challenges, many trustees continue advocating for student protections. There are phenomenal voices among them representing the communities that elected them. These trustees deserve to return to a boardroom environment guided by a clear, Ministry-defined governance framework—one that allows them to focus on students rather than being sidelined by special interest groups or lobbying campaigns that disregard student rights.
Upholding Student Rights
These policies represent legally mandated standards for protecting students in areas including mental health, behavior management, bullying prevention, and curriculum exemptions, but remain impacted:
- PPM 145 (2018): Progressive Discipline
- PPM 144 (2021): Bullying Prevention & Intervention
- PPM 162 (2019): Exemption From HPE Expectations
- PPM 128 (2024): Provincial Code of Conduct
- PPM 169 (2024): Student Mental Health
We continue to call on the Ministry and the Province to act decisively to restore student rights, uphold the law, and safeguard well-being in Catholic schools.
Parents, guardians, educators, and community stakeholders are encouraged to share input and personal experiences at info@protectouryouth.ca, to help inform a formal policy review request and advocate for student-centered governance.
When critical thinkers organize, students win.