The Toronto District School Board has passed a motion to bring forward a plan to combat Anti-Palestinian Racism as early as October 2025.
In June 2024, the TDSB adopted Anti-Palestinian Racism as a form of bias and hate, but the plan was not scheduled to be brought before the board until 2027.
The motion, brought forward by trustees Alexis Dawson and Debbie King, also asks the board chair to write to the Ministry of Education requesting that it adopt the recommendation related to the TDSB excursions policy, which recommended that the ministry develop two workshops with a three-part series focused on antisemitism and Palestinian erasure training for senior staff and trustees.
“The motion really speaks to advancing the work of being able to address anti-Palestinian erasure and school life as part of our combating hate strategy. That work is going to be developed and informed by various resources that staff lean upon, and by consultation with various community members,” King said in an interview with OMNI News.
King added that the stories she has heard have immensely helped in putting forward and passing the motion.
“I personally have been hearing accounts of erasure and bias based on Palestinian identity from school communities within my ward, even prior to taking this position, what I saw, and I think what many of us saw, was that really intensified and came into more of the public awareness and realm with the events of October 2023.”
Dawson described the vote on the motion as “interesting,” stressing that although it was not unanimous, the support was apparent.
“A vote is never really, you know, just what’s on the surface. There was a lot of advocacy on the part of trustee King and I, in advance with trustees. We were able to incorporate some of the feedback from our colleagues, particularly in the whereas clauses, which strengthened the motion ultimately. But the vote landed at 15 to 5, so it was not unanimous, but the majority of trustees did support it, thankfully.”
“I think sadly for me, there are too many examples,” King said when asked about Anti-Palestinian Racism she could share. “I’ve been hearing accounts since prior to being in this role, whether that was a student wanting to write an essay based on their lived experience, and that being questioned or being deterred from doing that is just one example. Again, there have been several, and it like intensified over the last couple of years”.
Both Dawson and King expressed their gratitude to the affected communities.
“I would like to say that we see you. We support you. You know this work in honouring your human rights does not come at the expense of anyone else’s human rights, as has been questioned by some of the trustees,” Dawson said.
King added that there has been a lot of “emotional labour” involved by the community before this motion passed.
“I understand that many of them have made themselves feel even further vulnerable than they have already felt. There is a labour involved, an emotional labour involved, but I know that they’ve done it with a lot of heart, because they’re also committed to making sure that we do better.”
Arab community members had mixed reactions, some telling OMNI News that Anti-Palestinian Racism in schools constitutes “individual incidents,” saying that there can be “fanatic” people against Palestinians, but that they are “not all Canadians.”
Another said that the Arab community must support the plan, especially when it relates to students, stressing that Canadians “have to respect freedom of speech.”
The National Council of Canadian Muslims applauded the motion, describing it on X as a “landmark motion.”
