True North

It’s hard to believe there can be an Ontario education minister more disconnected with the reality of what is happening in the province’s classrooms, more uninformed about those who have made racism an industry and more tone-deaf than Stephen Lecce.

But new education minister Jill Dunlop appears to be just that person.

Faced with a genuine opportunity to reform the DEI-induced toxicity at the Toronto District School Board and the pervasive anti-Semitism in far too many Toronto schools, she instead announced that the man who has been a huge part of the problem, race advocate Patrick Case, would be the one to conduct a review of the board’s field trip policies.

This comes in the wake of what was supposed to be an Indigenous field trip on Sept. 18. It was sold to parents as an excursion to bring to light the mercury poisoning on Grassy Narrows community. But students from 15 schools were pressured to march and chant, “From Turtle Island to Palestine, occupation is a crime.”

Some students came home with “Zionist Kills” stickers. 

No teachers were disciplined and trustees begrudgingly agreed to the ministry review at a special meeting at the end of September.

Perhaps Dunlop was given the recommendation to hire him by those incompetent educrats from the Wynne era who only care about self-preservation.

In all my years in journalism, I’ve never seen a system more prone to recycling into well-paying jobs the same names, the same deadwood, the same toxic educrats that have messed up the system in the first place.

Or maybe Dunlop was instructed by her weak-willed Premier to merely go through the motions of a review—just like what happened with the review/non review of the circumstances leading to the tragic death of much-loved TDSB principal Richard Bilkszto.

Sadly, it shows that the rot does indeed go deep.

My goodness, the terrible results from their own standardized math, literacy and reading tests should show Doug Ford and Dunlop there’s a problem.

I can’t think of a worse fit than Patrick Case — not just for the Jewish students and teachers in the system but for any hope of tackling the toxic impact of DEI.

Case was one of the Kathleen Wynne leftovers who landed up as assistant deputy minister in the ministry’s new equity secretariat in 2017.

He should have been cleaned out, along with the overpaid equity policy advisors, who populate two equity units.

Case – who lists critical race theory as one of his research interests — was charged with implementing a new education ministry equity action plan when he came to the ministry.

In that role, he helped introduce critical race theory and DEI ideology into the Ontario curriculum, destreamed Grade 9, dumbed down the curriculum and removed suspensions and expulsions for violent and badly behaved students — all because racialized students were subjected to the most discipline.

Case has close ties to TDSB education director Colleen Russell-Rawlins, who officially retires from the TDSB next month. She turned the board into a toxic mess, according to many teachers and principals I’ve interviewed over the past year. 

She signed off on the hiring of Kike Ojo-Thompson, the race activist who – according to tapes of the sessions – bullied and intimidated Bilkzsto during two anti-racism sessions in the spring of 2021. 

Bilkzsto took his own life a year ago, a victim his lawyer says of the bullying and the subsequent ostracization by Russell-Rawlins’ anti-racism lieutenants.

Case, who made $200,000 in 2023, endorsed a Russell-Rawlins vanity project — a Centre for Black Student Achievement.

Under Russell-Rawlins, that centre absorbed millions and millions of dollars and offered black students – only – select opportunities for mentoring and coaching.

He left the ministry in January of this year to become a Human Rights Defender.

But that was not before he likely swayed ministry officials from conducting a much-needed review of the Bilkszto tragedy with a three-page briefing note extolling the virtues of anti-racism and DEI training.

I recently reported on that briefing note, which was contained in a 120-page FOI response showing the education ministry’s alleged review of the Bilkszto tragedy was a huge sham and a year-long Ministry circle jerk.

With a resume like Case’s, I’m guessing that his review will be highly sympathetic to the alleged “oppressed” in the board and either whitewash or sanction the hateful protests against the alleged “oppressors” * (the privileged) Jews.

I predict he will not suggest anything to make classrooms safer, since his equity plan made them unsafe in the first place.

He will not condone political protest or the worst anti-Semitic offenders in TDSB classrooms because ideologically he likely agrees with them.

Besides, there’s just far too much incestuousness between the school board, the teachers’ unions and people like Case.

If Dunlop truly meant what she said about stopping publicly funded schools from being used as vehicles of political protest, she would have appointed an independent reviewer – not someone strongly vested in maintaining the status quo.

Perhaps the lazy media is fooled as they appeared to be when the announcement was made.

I am not fooled.

Parents are not fooled.

The Jewish community is not fooled.

Teachers who just want to do their jobs free of politics and toxicity are not fooled.

Perhaps parents will need to consider a class action lawsuit against the TDSB.

It may be the only way they can get satisfaction and tell the education ministry that they mean business.