Ontario Premier Doug Ford slammed the province’s largest school board on Monday, after students were brought on a field trip that turned into a protest.
“I think it’s disgraceful,” Ford told reporters. “You’re trying to indoctrinate our kids!”
On September 18, students from various schools across Toronto attended a field trip to the Grassy Narrows River Run, a community event organized in support of the Grassy Narrows First Nation and their efforts to address decades-long mercury pollution in their community.
It is estimated that 90 per cent of the local population suffers from some degree of mercury poisoning after nearly 20,000 pounds of hazardous waste was dumped into the Wabigoon River system between 1962 and 1970.
In a statement issued on Friday, the school board said the excursion was intended to be an experience for “students to hear from Indigenous voices about the ongoing challenges faced by the people of Grassy Narrows.”
The event was scheduled to begin at Grange Park, near the Art Gallery of Ontario and end at Queen’s Park in front of the provincial legislature.
The school board said it received numerous concerns about the trip, mostly about issues that were raised outside of the event’s main focus.
Videos of the rally on social media show some demonstrators shouting pro-Palestinian chants, such as “From Turtle Island to Palestine, occupation is a crime.”
Turtle Island is the name that some Algonquian and Iroquoian-speaking peoples use to refer to North America.
School board officials later apologized for the situation and said it would review its field trip policy and prioritize an investigation into the matter.
“While we are in the early stages of the investigation, if it is found that TDSB policies, procedures or professional standards were not followed, we will take appropriate action, which may include discipline and/or changes to our field trip process to ensure accountability,” the school board added. “We will continue to critically evaluate requests for field trips in accordance with our policies and procedures.”
On Monday, Ford expressed his discontent with the school board and some teachers saying, students “should be in the classroom learning about reading, writing, spelling, arithmetic […] but instead, the TDSB and these teachers want to bring them down to a rally, a Palestinian rally, and it’s ridiculous.”
“Stick with teaching,” the premier added.
When asked if the province would send in an investigator, Ford said, “There needs to be an investigation and we’ll be all over this to make sure people are held accountable.”
TDSB said it remains committed to the calls to action set out by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and will continue to provide opportunities for students to learn about Indigenous history and contemporary realities.
“The safety and the well-being of our students will continue to be our top priority,” TDSB said.
