Seven Years Later: Why This Work Still Matters

Today, we learned the Ontario College of Teachers found TCDSB Trustee Michael Del Grande guilty of professional misconduct for remarks he made during the 2019 debates over updating the board's Code of Conduct.

I've linked the Toronto Star article below because many of you signed this petition during that time and deserve to know about this development.

As I reflected on this news, I realized this story isn't simply about one trustee or one decision. It's about what seven years of advocacy has taught me.

When I started this petition in 2019, I believed the issue was straightforward: the Toronto Catholic District School Board should explicitly recognize all of the protected grounds in Ontario's Human Rights Code.

More than 30,000 people agreed.

Since then, there have been investigations, court decisions, sanctions, Ministry intervention, and now a finding of professional misconduct by the Ontario College of Teachers.

Looking back, this was never just about one policy, one meeting, or one trustee. It has always been about how public institutions respond when students and families ask to be treated with dignity and respect.

My advocacy has continued in ways I can't fully discuss while other processes remain underway. What I can say is that I've learned policy language matters just as much as public debate. The words institutions choose—and how they are interpreted and applied—can have lasting consequences for students.

While meaningful change rarely happens as quickly as we hope, I remain grateful to everyone who signed this petition, shared it, spoke up, or simply believed this conversation was worth having.

Thank you for standing with me over the past seven years.

Read the Toronto Star article here: https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/toronto-catholic-school-trustee-found-guilty-of-misconduct-by-ontario-college-of-teachers/article_10104e53-7899-4d9f-9365-aad47657728d.html