Mike Del Grande’s Divisional Court filing was heard this week on October 19th, 2022, nearly 3 years after his public temper tantrum after learning school boards must comply with the Ontario Human Rights Code.
During opening remarks, we discover that his “Freedom of Religion” and “Freedom of Expression” assertions were dropped since the filing. His team must have realized how ridiculous the claims were at some point along the way, however nobody has retracted the various public statements made repeating the claims.
The Attorney General was present as an Intervener and described their displeasure with the trustee's statements. It was also made clear that statements “did not reflect any sincere religious belief” and that is proven in p17 of Del Grande’s own filings where he describes statements as simply “ad absurdum". Lawyers also made clear they felt the comments were in fact "inflammatory and discriminatory".
How disappointing it must be for uninformed followers of MDG, who successfully diverted over $100K from the church for this legal challenge in the name of “Catholicism” (as stated on the crowd funding site they used).
Since MDG’s lawyer didn't bother reading the rules of the court and come prepared with costs detailed, as expected, they were granted 10 days to complete them before the 3 Justices will make a determination based on procedural fairness alone.
As a reminder: the sanctions MDG was required to complete, but protested via judicial review, were simply 1) an apology and 2) an equity class.
A recent FOI obtained by a community member described the taxpayer costs associated with MDG's challenge was at around $100K, though we know that is not the end of this waste of educational resources.
Once we obtain access to the filings, we will share them here and keep petition supporters updated until justice is served, and the board has established a method for trustee accountability to prevent further harm.
** If you are in TCDSB Ward 7: Scarborough-Agincourt, you have an alternative trustee option that pledges to respect laws and the integrity of the office. Vote for Daniel Cubellis this Monday, October 24, 2022.
Find voting info here.