Revised May 31, 2023 with a significant update at the very end.
Friday, June 25, 2021
Dr. Derek Haime, Registrar, Ontario College of Teachers
Dear Dr. Haime,
Last Friday, the Toronto Star published an article called “One hundred years apart, they fought for Indigenous children. He lost. She keeps winning.”
In case you haven’t seen it, here’s a segment from the article:
Last week, Cindy Blackstock stood beside the grave of a man who, more than a century ago, sounded the alarm about children dying in Canada’s residential schools.
Dr. Peter Henderson Bryce, a non-Indigenous medical doctor and civil servant, warned the federal government in 1907 that poor ventilation and overcrowding was fuelling the spread of tuberculosis in residential schools across Western Canada, and that children were dying at alarming rates. His report demanded an “immediate remedy,” but the government did not act.
Blackstock, a child welfare activist and McGill University professor, had come to his grave at a pivotal moment in her own battle. She was about to take on the federal government in court — again — over systemic discrimination against First Nations children.
“I feel a kinship with him in many ways, even though we’re 100 years apart,” said Blackstock, executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada, and a member of the Gitxsan First Nation. “I always think he must have felt like he was screaming into silence. And sometimes I feel that way, too.”
I feel like I’m screaming into silence, too. Although for me, it feels more like I’m screaming into the wind.
Dr. Peter Henderson Bryce faced career repercussions for speaking out. The government suspended funding for his research, prevented him from speaking at academic conferences and blocked him from positions within the federal civil service. Forced into retirement in the early 1920s, he wrote a tell-all book lamenting that “this trail of disease and death has gone on almost unchecked.”
I’ve written a tell-all book, too.
I just haven’t released it yet.
As you are aware, Dr. Haime, I’ve filed a complaint with the OCT against:
W. R. (Rusty) Hick (former Director of Education, Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board and current Executive Director of the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association)
Shelly Roy (former Superintendent, Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board)
Jennifer Leclerc (former Director of Education, Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board)
Rob Whetter (former legal advisor Ontario Principals’ Council);
Laura Hodgins (current legal advisor Ontario Principals’ Council); and
Michael Salvatori (former Registrar Ontario College of Teachers).
I filed the complaint because it is unethical and immoral to:
Practice retribution against someone when they speak out against systemic discrimination;
Punish someone when they speak out against systemic discrimination;
Offer to buy someone’s silence through mediation and confidentiality agreements when they speak out against systemic discrimination;
Issue a cease-and-desist order to someone who is speaking out against systemic discrimination;
Refuse to investigate when someone raises a concern about systemic discrimination;
Tell someone to apologize when they speak out against systemic discrimination;
Publicly walk someone off the job when they speak out against systemic discrimination;
Allow racist and misogynistic trustees to sit on hiring panels;
Not investigate properly.
I asked the OCT for a complete independent 3rd party investigation with an experienced, skilled and qualified investigator who has demonstrated experience in systemic discrimination.
Yesterday, I spoke with a member of your intake team: Ms. Evelyn Liu.
Ms. Liu has a lovely telephone manner, a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences with a double major in French and Criminology, and just graduated from university in 2015.
So basically, the most important complaint the OCT will ever receive…
Do teachers have a duty of loyalty to the school boards they serve or do teachers have a duty of loyalty to the public and the students they serve?
Is it professional misconduct for teachers to speak out against discrimination?
Is it professional misconduct for school boards to punish teachers when they speak out against discrimination?
Do teachers have a moral, ethical and legal obligation to speak out about discrimination?
… is currently being handled by someone 6 years out of university.
Me to Ms. Liu on the telephone yesterday: What happens to my complaint now that it’s in your hands?
Ms. Liu: Well, I haven’t read the whole thing yet, but it appears to be about hiring and firing, and that’s not within the College’s jurisdiction.
In case you haven’t noticed, my complaint isn’t about “hiring and firing," Dr. Haime.
Perhaps I haven't made myself perfectly clear.
(Perhaps I truly am screaming into the wind.)
My complaint is about:
Whether teachers have a duty of loyalty to the school boards they serve or a duty of loyalty to the public and the students they serve;
Whether it is professional misconduct for teachers to speak out against discrimination;
Whether it is professional misconduct for teachers to punish other teachers when they speak out against discrimination;
Whether teachers have a moral, ethical and legal obligation to speak out about discrimination.
Apparently my complaint will also pass through Mr. Patrick Winter's hands.
Mr. Winter is the Manager and Senior Intake Officer of your Hearings and Investigations Department. Mr. Winter graduated from Dalhousie University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Classics.
I’m quite certain that’s not going to help.
Then there’s Ms. Linda Lacroix.
As you know, Ms. Lacroix is the Director of your Investigations and Hearings Department, and the third set of hands my complaint will pass through. Ms. Lacroix has been with the OCT for one year and was a Superintendent of Education for the Conseil scolaire public du Nord-Est de l’Ontario. Ms. Lacroix also worked as Director of the French Language Teaching and Learning Branch at the Ministry of Education for three years.
I majored in French at university, too. I’m quite certain Ms. Lacroix’s French language skills, while valuable, will not come in handy for this complaint.
On June 17, I wrote to you, Dr. Haime, to alert you that I had filed a complaint with the OCT.
Me to you: Because of the seriousness of this complaint and the complexity, I suggest you speak with the Intake Unit to make sure this is handled appropriately. There is no room for error on this one.
You to me 6 days later: Thank you for notifying me of this. The Intake Unit is proceeding as they have outlined to you and will respond to any questions you may have in the meantime.
This is precisely what I’m afraid of, Dr. Haime.
This, while another estimated 751 bodies have been discovered at another Residential “School” in Saskatchewan.
This, while Javier Dávila continues to be on home assignment under a Jewish Acting Director of Education who may have a bias against Palestinians.
This, while a group of about 50 principals from the Toronto District School Board told the board in an open letter that they signed as “anonymous for fear of reprisal,” that: “We are increasingly disturbed by the policing, criticism and silencing that some of us are experiencing when we name and create space to discuss such human rights violations.”
This, while Trustee Carole Paikin Miller lodged complaints against two teachers – Anthony Marco and Alice Smith – for calling Ms. Paikin Miller out for racist comments and behaviours, and neither investigation conducted by a third-party lawyer resulted in findings of any board violations.
This, at a cost of nearly $25,000 to Ontario taxpayers for those two investigations alone!
Galileo was punished for saying the earth wasn’t the centre of the universe over 400 years ago, and he was placed on house arrest for the rest of his life.
Have we learned nothing since Galileo’s time??!!
Are we still living under the Catholic Roman Inquisition??!!
While dead bodies keep piling up in unmarked graves at former Residential “Schools”??!!
That’s what this is about.
Is the Ontario College of Teachers still going to cling to a 400-year old belief that says teachers are not allowed to speak truth to power - even now??!!
That’s ludicrous!
This is the same belief Dr. Bryce was up against when he spoke out against the conditions at Residential Schools over 100 years ago!
It’s the same belief that allowed Hitler to kill 6 million Jews!
How many millions of bodies it is going to take for the OCT to actually respond appropriately??!!
Murray Sinclair believes education is the key to reconciliation: “Education got us into this mess, and education will get us out of this mess,” Mr. Sinclair said.
As long as the OCT tells teachers they do not have a moral, ethical and legal obligation to speak out against discrimination, education will continue to perpetuate this mess.
What side of history do you want to land on, Dr. Haime?
You served on the Waterloo Regional Crime Prevention Council – First Nation, Métis and Inuit Representative, Truth and Reconciliation Sub Committee Chair!
For. The. Love. Of. God. Do. Something!
In support of all Residential “School” survivors and their families,
Debbie L. Kasman
M. Ed, Policy Studies, OISE/University of Toronto
Education Re-imagined
Analyst & Researcher, Author & Speaker
{Note: Javier Dávila was reinstated to his position without penalty on July 16, 2021, three weeks after I published this letter and sent a copy to Karen Falconer and all Toronto District School Board Superintendents and Trustees. Javier wrote about his re-instatement here.
However, Dávila is under investigation again — this time for professional misconduct by the Ontario College of Teachers because a complaint was lodged against him by a lawyer named Michael Teper. The College’s Intake Team allowed the complaint to proceed — even though the matter was investigated through a formal investigation process that included TDSB's Employee Services, legal department, and Human Rights Office, and a letter concluding there was no wrongdoing and that no disciplinary action was warranted was sent to Dávila’s union president and to Dávila himself on July 14, 2021.
On November 17, 2021 Dávila’s lawyers Dimitri Lascaris and Stephen Ellis served B’nai Brith Canada and its CEO, Michael Mostyn, a Libel notice under the Ontario Libel and Slander Act.
On March 21, 2023, the Ontario College of Teachers announced College Council had received a report from the Standards of Practice and Education Committee highlighting the development of a new Professional Advisory to inform members of the College of their professional responsibilities to uphold human rights and combat hate and intolerance.
The Professional Advisory will include rigorous consultation with stakeholders and experts in the field, the Standards of Practice and Education Committee will be provided with regular updates on the advisory development process and an opportunity for interim reviews of the advisory document, College Council will be kept apprised of developments of the Professional Advisory via the Registrar’s Report, a final version will be tabled as information at the appropriate Council meeting, the Professional Advisory will be published on the College website and distributed to members electronically, and the Professional Advisory will require Standards of Practice and Education Committee approval prior to publication.
On April 17, 2023, Minister Lecce tabled the Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act in the Legislature, saying its goal is to modernize the province’s education system. The proposed Bill has five key focus areas that will be supported by education policy reforms, and those reforms will:
1. Ensure that all school boards across the province are focused on delivering on the government's key priorities for student achievement and improving accountability and transparency on board performance and funding.
2. Implement standardized processes, a fair and impartial framework to support the integrity of trustee conduct, and expectations for boards of trustees, Directors of Education and supervisory officers.
3. Maximize capital assets of boards to support building modern schools faster and better utilize school capacity so that students can attend school as close to home as possible. The proposed Bill will better leverage surplus property for public education and other provincial priorities, address accommodation needs in urban/high growth areas, ensure better planning for schools and associated child care facilities, maximize school capacity, where appropriate and improve consistency at the design phase to help reduce planning time and expedite the approvals process.
4. Strengthen teacher training and oversight to ensure teachers are trained for the needs of today's and tomorrow's classrooms and support student safety through fair and effective disciplinary processes for teachers and registered early childhood educators. The proposed Bill will ensure that fair and efficient disciplinary processes and other measures are in place for educators to build on progress made in previous reforms that enable the Ontario College of Teachers and the College of Early Childhood Educators to discharge their roles more effectively.
5. Encourage consistent information and approaches to student learning through more accessible information and opportunities for parents to get involved, and greater consistency in student mental health and well-being supports. This includes providing the information and tools necessary to ensure consistent information and approaches to student learning, including a greater role for parents and student learning about mental health and well-being.
The amendments proposed in Schedule 2 of the Bill will, if passed, amend the Education Act to drive provincial priorities to enhance accountability and transparency and to enable more effective governance through reforms for the education sector, boards of trustees and Directors of Education.
BUT IT’S NOT ENOUGH.
On May 16, 2023, the College decided to allow the complaints against former Director of Education, Rusty Hick, and former Superintendent, Shelly Roy, to move forward. The College will be investigating 11 different allegations.
THAT’S NOT ENOUGH, EITHER. MORE CHANGE IS NEEDED.
Follow me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/DebbieKasman.