Ford asks education ministry to probe TDSB field trip to protest

Ontario's ministry of education is investigating a Toronto District School Board field trip that saw students from 15 schools attend a protest on mercury contamination that is affecting a First Nation community in the north.

Premier Doug Ford said Wednesday he had asked Education Minister Jill Dunlop to investigate, saying kids shouldn't be at protests and should instead be in school learning math, spelling, geography and history.

The Grassy Narrows River Run march last week was held to pressure the government to address decades-long mercury contamination in Grassy Narrows First Nation since a paper mill in Dryden, Ont., dumped 9,000 kilograms of the substance into the river systems in the 1960s.

Videos on social media showed some march participants chanting pro-Palestinian slogans, which prompted Ford earlier this week to call it a "Palestinian rally" and complain that teachers were trying to indoctrinate children.

Dunlop said in a statement that the board has failed to take swift and decisive action and she wants to see those responsible held accountable.

The TDSB said in a written statement that it is reviewing field trip procedures and has told schools that students should not be participating in organized protests, rallies or marches during school-related outings.

At a special meeting on Wednesday evening, TDSB trustees voted unanimously to co-operate fully with the provincial investigation.

Louise Sirisko, the board's acting director of education, said the board received many reports of concerns about the field trip on Sept. 18, which was organized as an educational experience to enable students to hear Indigenous voices about the "ongoing challenges" facing the Grassy Narrows community.

"We take these concerns very seriously. We too have concerns about what occurred in relation to this excursion and believe additional information is necessary to properly assess the situation," Sirisko said.

Sirisko said the TDSB has suspended its internal investigation to allow the board to concentrate on co-operating with the ministry's investigator.

"We live in complex times where our connectedness to world events happens in real time, on the streets and through social media and technology," she added. 

Trustee Alexandra Lulka Rotman said the TDSB failed all of its students, not only Jewish students, by taking a group of them to the event.

"To be completely clear, the antisemitism displayed was heinous, the hurt is profound, the humiliation of our children is unforgivable," Lulka Rotman said. "And the work of restoring the broken trust between this board and the Jewish community is something that will need to be addressed."

Andrea Thompson, a parent of two students who go to TDSB schools, attended the Grassy Narrows River Walk. She said she saw about 30 students who appeared to be about 11 to 13 years of age at the protest. They were not chanting or carrying signs but were walking along with the other demonstrators, Thompson added.