Montreal-area school board releases report into discrimination after video of teenagers in blackface
A 143-page report into policies at a school board in the Montreal area has found that many students feel discriminated against based on their religion, sexual orientation and race.
The Lester B. Pearson School Board commissioned the report after two girls at John Rennie High School in Pointe-Claire were caught on video in blackface using vulgar, racist language last year.
The board said the video made them realize the need to improve the learning and social; experiences of its diverse student population.
Among the key strategies are teaching tolerance of different religions, teaching more about holidays celebrated by religious groups that aren't just Judeo-Christian, and having speakers that come from different cultural communities.
"I think it's important, not just in schools, but in all corporations, in all organizations," said task force chair Dr. Myrna Lashley. "We have to do some self-examination, we've got to stop gazing at our navels and assuming that everything is fine the way it is. We know it's not."
The report also highlights that there are inconsistencies in the gender language in LBPSB bylaws.
"It is not only important for youth to feel included, respected and cared for by being referred to by their chosen name and correct pronouns, it is important for youth to see gender-inclusive language used within their environments," the report reads.
The report recommends, as a result, updating documents and advising teachers that the should use gender-neutral language in classrooms.
Later, the report recommends gender-neutral washrooms and updating pictograms on the facilities.
"We have a collective obligation to continue educating our students about the dangers of letting injustice as well as racist and discriminatory attitudes of any kind to prevail and go unchecked," said LBPSB chair Noel Burke.
The board said it wants all its schools to study the report and put in place an action plan by late fall.
The mother of the boy who was the target of the racist video filed a human rights complaint against the people who made the video and aksed that blackface be declaired a hateful symbol.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.