Please note that the regular PCAP meeting is cancelled this week so folks can attend this very important event, which has been organized in response to events surrounding racist school board trustee Gordon Gilchrist.
Click HERE for more info on Gilchrist and community responses to him.
--
RACISM AND FREEDOM OF SPEECH
A discussion with MPP Peter Tabuns
Special Guests include: 1) School Trustee, Brian R. Cowie, B.Sc., JD, 2) TrentU Professor of Politics, Nadine Changfoot, 3) Executive Director of New Canadians Centre, Carmela Valles
Wednesday April 2nd / 7:00-8:30 pm
Junior Common Room, Traill College
310 London Street (between Stewart and Reid)
Peter is the MPP for Toronto-Danforth and Citizenship and Immigration critic for the NDP. He was recognized by NOW magazine as "Best MPP" in 2006. He was also the Executive Director of Greenpeace Canada, Deputy Mayor of Toronto, Special Advisor on Climate Change to the federal NDP, Chair of the Toronto Board of Health, Toronto City Councillor, President of Citizens for a Safe Environment, and Vice Chair of the Co-op Housing Federation of Toronto.
Presented by Trent University's Dept. of History, Dept. of Politics, Frost Centre for Canadian and Indigenous Studies, New Canadians Centre, OPIRG, PCAP, Peterborough-Kawartha Council of Canadians, Peterborough Older Women's Network, Peterborough coalition for Palestinian solidarity, Peterborough Community Legal Centre and the Community and Race Relations Committee of Peterborough.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Friday, March 21, 2008
March 27 - Jaggi Singh Talks
1) Our Terrain of Struggle: The Walls of Global Apartheid
This presentation is open to the public and features no borders, anti-capitalist, and social justice activist, Jaggi Singh. This presentation will explore the research and lived experiences that ground a "no one is illegal/no borders" analysis. Among the conclusions: all border controls are fundamentally racist; all nation-states are inherently oppressive; all human beings have the autonomous right to migrate, to resist displacement, and to return; and, in opposition to imposed notions of "race" or "community", we struggle to assert self-determined identities. In a context of global apartheid, there are very specific challenges for organizing on a shifting terrain of struggle that is rooted in the lived reality of those who daily confront oppression.
Date: March 27th
Location: Peterborough Public Library Auditorium
Time: 3pm - 5pm
Sponsored by: OPIRG, PCAP, CRRC, KWIC, Trent Women's Centre, Ploughshares, TCSA, and Council of Canadians
2) OPIRG Annual General Meeting
This is a public event. An evening of great food, performances, and community activism. The free food will be provided by Island Cream (Vegatarian and Vegan). The night will include performances by the Resource Sirens and others (open mic). As well, the keynote speaker for the evening is Jaggi Singh. Singh is a no borders, anti-capitalist, migrant and indigenous solidarity organizer, involved with No One Is Illegal-Montreal, Solidarity Across Borders and other groups; he is also active with the People's Global Action Bloc (PGA-Bloc). His talk for the evening is titled "Resistance 2010! Organizing & mobilizing against the G-8 and SPP". More information on the talk below.
Date: Thursday March 27th
Time: 6pm - 11pm (Singh's talk begins @ 8:30pm)
Location: Sadleir House Dining Hall
Resistance 2010! Organizing & mobilizing against the G-8 and SPP
In the year 2010, three major international events will be taking place in the Canadian state: the Winter Olympics in Vancouver/Whistler, the G-8 Leader's Summit and the meeting of the NAFTA leaders as part of the so-called "Security and Prosperity Partnership" (SPP).
Already, a convergence of groups on the West Coast, led by indigenous organizers, have come together under the banner of "No Olympics on stolen native land", calling on "all native warriors, anarchists, anti-capitalists, anti-poverty activists, environmentalists, and concerned individuals, to converge against the 2010 Winter Olympic Games."
With two years before the Olympics begin, there is a huge opportunity for coordinated and developed campaigns against the Olympics, G-8 and SPP: campaigns that are rooted in our every-day mobilizing, and survival; campaigns that understand that the institutions of oppression and power function daily in our own communities; campaigns based on direct action, disruption and popular education.
This presentation will explore some of the roots of anti-capitalist and anti-colonial resistance to the G8 and SPP, as we support our day-to-day organizing, reinforce our local campaigns, and build together towards Resistance 2010 and beyond.
Email opirg@trentu.ca for more info or visit their website: http://www.opirgpeterborough.ca/
This presentation is open to the public and features no borders, anti-capitalist, and social justice activist, Jaggi Singh. This presentation will explore the research and lived experiences that ground a "no one is illegal/no borders" analysis. Among the conclusions: all border controls are fundamentally racist; all nation-states are inherently oppressive; all human beings have the autonomous right to migrate, to resist displacement, and to return; and, in opposition to imposed notions of "race" or "community", we struggle to assert self-determined identities. In a context of global apartheid, there are very specific challenges for organizing on a shifting terrain of struggle that is rooted in the lived reality of those who daily confront oppression.
Date: March 27th
Location: Peterborough Public Library Auditorium
Time: 3pm - 5pm
Sponsored by: OPIRG, PCAP, CRRC, KWIC, Trent Women's Centre, Ploughshares, TCSA, and Council of Canadians
2) OPIRG Annual General Meeting
This is a public event. An evening of great food, performances, and community activism. The free food will be provided by Island Cream (Vegatarian and Vegan). The night will include performances by the Resource Sirens and others (open mic). As well, the keynote speaker for the evening is Jaggi Singh. Singh is a no borders, anti-capitalist, migrant and indigenous solidarity organizer, involved with No One Is Illegal-Montreal, Solidarity Across Borders and other groups; he is also active with the People's Global Action Bloc (PGA-Bloc). His talk for the evening is titled "Resistance 2010! Organizing & mobilizing against the G-8 and SPP". More information on the talk below.
Date: Thursday March 27th
Time: 6pm - 11pm (Singh's talk begins @ 8:30pm)
Location: Sadleir House Dining Hall
Resistance 2010! Organizing & mobilizing against the G-8 and SPP
In the year 2010, three major international events will be taking place in the Canadian state: the Winter Olympics in Vancouver/Whistler, the G-8 Leader's Summit and the meeting of the NAFTA leaders as part of the so-called "Security and Prosperity Partnership" (SPP).
Already, a convergence of groups on the West Coast, led by indigenous organizers, have come together under the banner of "No Olympics on stolen native land", calling on "all native warriors, anarchists, anti-capitalists, anti-poverty activists, environmentalists, and concerned individuals, to converge against the 2010 Winter Olympic Games."
With two years before the Olympics begin, there is a huge opportunity for coordinated and developed campaigns against the Olympics, G-8 and SPP: campaigns that are rooted in our every-day mobilizing, and survival; campaigns that understand that the institutions of oppression and power function daily in our own communities; campaigns based on direct action, disruption and popular education.
This presentation will explore some of the roots of anti-capitalist and anti-colonial resistance to the G8 and SPP, as we support our day-to-day organizing, reinforce our local campaigns, and build together towards Resistance 2010 and beyond.
Email opirg@trentu.ca for more info or visit their website: http://www.opirgpeterborough.ca/
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Fighting Psychiatric Institutions - Pat Capponi Talk
**************************************
FIGHTING PSYCHIATRIC INSTITUTIONS, POVERTY & HOMELESSNESS
**************************************
A Public Talk by Pat Capponi
Remaking Ourselves: From Mental Patient to Psychiatric Survivor
Monday, 31st March 2008 -
7.00 to 9.00 PM,
at Auditorium - Peterborough Downtown Public Library (345 Aylmer St. N.)
Free Food Not Bombs dinner meal will be served at 6:30 p.m. at the library.
All Welcome! Free Admission!
Light Food & Refreshments Served. Reception following the talk.
Pat Capponi is a leading advocate on mental health and poverty issues and author of several books. She overcame an abuse-ridden childhood and subsequent mental illness, as well as warehousing in a psychiatric boarding home, to become one of Canada’s leading spokespeople for improvement in the quality of life for those labelled mentally ill. As a psychiatric survivor, she has written Upstairs in the Crazy House and Beyond the Crazy House. Her own direct experience of poverty lead to cross Canada look at inner-city poverty, detailed in Dispatches from the Poverty Line and The War at Home: An Intimate Portrait of Canada's Poor. She has also written Bound by Duty: Walking the Beat with Canada's Cops. Pat Capponi has been very active in community groups, founding member of Gerstein Centre, the Supportive Housing Coalition and has won the Queen's Jubilee Medal for her community work and advocacy.
Sponsored by
Elizabeth Fry Society of Peterborough
Frost Centre for Canadian and Indigenous Studies
Peterborough Coalition Against Poverty
Peterborough-Kawartha Chapter of Council of Canadians
OPIRG-Peterborough
Trent University Canadian Studies, Politics, and Women Studies Departments
Trent Queer Collective
Trent Women's Centre
Women's Events Planning Committee
FIGHTING PSYCHIATRIC INSTITUTIONS, POVERTY & HOMELESSNESS
**************************************
A Public Talk by Pat Capponi
Remaking Ourselves: From Mental Patient to Psychiatric Survivor
Monday, 31st March 2008 -
7.00 to 9.00 PM,
at Auditorium - Peterborough Downtown Public Library (345 Aylmer St. N.)
Free Food Not Bombs dinner meal will be served at 6:30 p.m. at the library.
All Welcome! Free Admission!
Light Food & Refreshments Served. Reception following the talk.
Pat Capponi is a leading advocate on mental health and poverty issues and author of several books. She overcame an abuse-ridden childhood and subsequent mental illness, as well as warehousing in a psychiatric boarding home, to become one of Canada’s leading spokespeople for improvement in the quality of life for those labelled mentally ill. As a psychiatric survivor, she has written Upstairs in the Crazy House and Beyond the Crazy House. Her own direct experience of poverty lead to cross Canada look at inner-city poverty, detailed in Dispatches from the Poverty Line and The War at Home: An Intimate Portrait of Canada's Poor. She has also written Bound by Duty: Walking the Beat with Canada's Cops. Pat Capponi has been very active in community groups, founding member of Gerstein Centre, the Supportive Housing Coalition and has won the Queen's Jubilee Medal for her community work and advocacy.
Sponsored by
Elizabeth Fry Society of Peterborough
Frost Centre for Canadian and Indigenous Studies
Peterborough Coalition Against Poverty
Peterborough-Kawartha Chapter of Council of Canadians
OPIRG-Peterborough
Trent University Canadian Studies, Politics, and Women Studies Departments
Trent Queer Collective
Trent Women's Centre
Women's Events Planning Committee
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Racism and Poverty: The Local Reality
***Please note the CHANGE OF TIME - Event Starts at 7:00 p.m.***
Racism and Poverty: The Local Reality
Thursday March 20, 2008 from 7:00 to 9:30 p.m.
Peterborough Public Library (345 Aylmer Street North)
Free admission. All Welcome. Accessible Space.
Featuring a performance by Dub Poet Chet Singh with Beau Dixon & Jarret Prescott
And a panel discussion featuring:
*Patrick Clark on migrant workers in the Peterborough region
*Ziysah D. Markson, New Canadians Centre, on poverty and immigration
in Peterborough
*Gillian Balfour, Elizabeth Fry Society of Peterborough
*Mike Ma, Community Race Relations Committee, on a year of racism in
Peterborough
*Speakers from the Peterborough Coalition Against Poverty and the
Northumberland Coalition Against Poverty
Further details will be posted as they become available. For more information email pcap@riseup.net or racerelation@gmail.com
Racism and Poverty: The Local Reality
Thursday March 20, 2008 from 7:00 to 9:30 p.m.
Peterborough Public Library (345 Aylmer Street North)
Free admission. All Welcome. Accessible Space.
Featuring a performance by Dub Poet Chet Singh with Beau Dixon & Jarret Prescott
And a panel discussion featuring:
*Patrick Clark on migrant workers in the Peterborough region
*Ziysah D. Markson, New Canadians Centre, on poverty and immigration
in Peterborough
*Gillian Balfour, Elizabeth Fry Society of Peterborough
*Mike Ma, Community Race Relations Committee, on a year of racism in
Peterborough
*Speakers from the Peterborough Coalition Against Poverty and the
Northumberland Coalition Against Poverty
Further details will be posted as they become available. For more information email pcap@riseup.net or racerelation@gmail.com
Communities Uniting: Talking About Justice, Disability and Possibilities
Important Event - Note Toronto Location:
COMMUNITIES UNITING: TALKING ABOUT JUSTICE, DISABILITY AND POSSIBILITIES
6:30 PM
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19TH
PARC (1499 Queen St. West - on Queen just West of Lansdowne. TORONTO)
MEAL PROVIDED
Disabled people are imprisoned, impoverished and denied immigration status. The only way this will ever change is if disabled people and our supporters join together to fight for justice for everyone. Disabled people are an important part of every community. This should make us an important part of every community organizing effort, which largely isn’t the case. Join us as several community organizers address the role of disability and disabled people in the struggle for resistance as we begin
discussions about where to go from here.
Ableism and Accessibility: Griffin Epstein, DAMN 2025
DAMN 2025 is a direct action group currently bringing together disabled people, those affected by ableism, and our supporters. We believe that accessibility is more than adding in ramps, it is about ensuring that things are made accessible in a wide variety of ways to a wide variety of people. It also means looking at how different identities intersect and ensuring that there is room for everyone in our struggles. Disabled people must work towards cross disability organizing which allies us to
other people with disabilities as well as with other oppressed groups.
Ableism in the Immigration Act and the Case of Kader Belaouni: Jared Will, legal council for Kader Belaouni
Disability discrimination is written into the Immigration Act. If you are disabled, it is very likely that you will NEVER become a Canadian citizen because you are considered a ‘drain on the system’ and possibly a ‘danger’ to the country.
One of the worst examples of this is the case of Abdelkader Belaouni Kader), an asylum seeker from Algeria who has been in sanctuary in Montreal for over two years. As people concerned with equity and justice, we demand immediate status for Kader. As a disability organizing campaign, we are particularly concerned with how ableism plays out in his case. He is blind, and his status has been denied, in large part, on the basis of a flagrantly discriminatory policy. Immigration Canada denied his case
largely because he was unemployed; however, they failed to take into consideration the reality of systemic discrimination against disabled people.
Poverty, Productivity and Why Disabled People Are Poor: A.J. Withers, OCAP
Disability and poverty are inextricably linked in our society. It is impossible to fight poverty without addressing disability and how so many disabled people are poor. Poverty is a reality in many disabled people’s lives; it acts to limit our mobility, our opportunities, even our health.
Many disabled people are poor but contrary to popular belief it is not because we are unable to work. Systemic discrimination, the undervaluing of our labour, as well as social assistance rules that keep us from being employed or employed at the levels that would work for us are what keep us poor. One in five people on welfare in Ontario are disabled and social assistance rates are always too low. Fighting poverty means disabled and other poor people fighting back.
Come help start these discussions on organizing in Toronto and where to go from here.
COMMUNITIES UNITING: TALKING ABOUT JUSTICE, DISABILITY AND POSSIBILITIES
6:30 PM
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19TH
PARC (1499 Queen St. West - on Queen just West of Lansdowne. TORONTO)
MEAL PROVIDED
Disabled people are imprisoned, impoverished and denied immigration status. The only way this will ever change is if disabled people and our supporters join together to fight for justice for everyone. Disabled people are an important part of every community. This should make us an important part of every community organizing effort, which largely isn’t the case. Join us as several community organizers address the role of disability and disabled people in the struggle for resistance as we begin
discussions about where to go from here.
Ableism and Accessibility: Griffin Epstein, DAMN 2025
DAMN 2025 is a direct action group currently bringing together disabled people, those affected by ableism, and our supporters. We believe that accessibility is more than adding in ramps, it is about ensuring that things are made accessible in a wide variety of ways to a wide variety of people. It also means looking at how different identities intersect and ensuring that there is room for everyone in our struggles. Disabled people must work towards cross disability organizing which allies us to
other people with disabilities as well as with other oppressed groups.
Ableism in the Immigration Act and the Case of Kader Belaouni: Jared Will, legal council for Kader Belaouni
Disability discrimination is written into the Immigration Act. If you are disabled, it is very likely that you will NEVER become a Canadian citizen because you are considered a ‘drain on the system’ and possibly a ‘danger’ to the country.
One of the worst examples of this is the case of Abdelkader Belaouni Kader), an asylum seeker from Algeria who has been in sanctuary in Montreal for over two years. As people concerned with equity and justice, we demand immediate status for Kader. As a disability organizing campaign, we are particularly concerned with how ableism plays out in his case. He is blind, and his status has been denied, in large part, on the basis of a flagrantly discriminatory policy. Immigration Canada denied his case
largely because he was unemployed; however, they failed to take into consideration the reality of systemic discrimination against disabled people.
Poverty, Productivity and Why Disabled People Are Poor: A.J. Withers, OCAP
Disability and poverty are inextricably linked in our society. It is impossible to fight poverty without addressing disability and how so many disabled people are poor. Poverty is a reality in many disabled people’s lives; it acts to limit our mobility, our opportunities, even our health.
Many disabled people are poor but contrary to popular belief it is not because we are unable to work. Systemic discrimination, the undervaluing of our labour, as well as social assistance rules that keep us from being employed or employed at the levels that would work for us are what keep us poor. One in five people on welfare in Ontario are disabled and social assistance rates are always too low. Fighting poverty means disabled and other poor people fighting back.
Come help start these discussions on organizing in Toronto and where to go from here.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
PCAP Statement - Racist KPRD School Board Trustee
On Wednesday March 5th PCAP participated in a press conference organized by the Community Race Relations Committee of Peterborough. Twelve local activists and community leaderes condemned Gordon Gilchrist, KPRD School Board trustee for Cobourg and Hamilton and Alnwick/Haldimand townships, calling for his resignation.
------
To read Gilchrist's Statement for yourself CLICK HERE
To read letters of condemnation CLICK HERE
------
PCAP Statement:
Dear Board of Trustees and Diane Llloyd,
PCAP is a direct action anti-poverty group made up of poor people and their allies, and we are committed to challenging policies that affect poor, homeless and working communities and speaking out against all forms of injustice.
We are pleased to join voices here today in solidarity with other groups and organizations expressing outrage and concern about Trustee Gordon Gilchrist's racist, anti-immigrant public statements of last week. We also thank the Trustees and the Equity and Diversity Committee for applying censure to Mr. Gilchrist for violating the public trust.
At PCAP, however, we feel that further action is now required, and it is urgent. It is simply unacceptable that Mr. Gilchrist be permitted to continue on in his position as a servant of the public. His racist and anti-immigrant statements have clearly demonstrated that he is unworthy of the position. Indeed it is an abomination of the position to call him a Trustee when he has so clearly violated all of the basic principles of public trusteeship defined in the policy.
Statistics on racism in education have long revealed a pattern of deep inequality for racialized students in Canada's school system. As the Colour of Poverty Campaign so clearly shows, "Racialized students face discrimination in schools. They are often streamed into lower level non-academic programs, and unfairly targeted for expulsion. Children from poor families are half as likely to attend university as those who are well-off, and some racialized groups have very low rates of high school completion." Furthermore, "they have few teachers and other role models from racialized communities who they see working within the various fields of education." To make matters worse, aboriginal students and immigrant students of colour living in poverty bear the brunt of inequality in the education and all of Canada's institutions. For PCAP, we recognize the racialization of poverty as a serious problem in this country when "32% of children in racialized families, and 47% of children in recent immigrant families in Ontario live in poverty". That is a national outrage.
We have a responsibility to acknowledge these deep inequalities when they occur in our communities. We have placed the trust in our Board to take action against members of the public like Trustee Gilchrist who clearly contributie to this problem.
He has devalued diversity, created a climate of hostility towards racialized immigrants, denigrated inclusiveness, deployed stereotypes, contributed to a climate of mistrust between the Board and the diverse communities it represents (especially aboriginal and racial/ethnic communities), violated the Human Rights Code, and compromised the Board's commitment to valuing racial diversity. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.
PCAP supports the Board in taking more definitive action to protect ALL students and families - this means recognizing that the effects of racism will continue unless Mr. Gilchrist is removed.
Removing Mr. Gilchrist, however, is not enough. PCAP also feels that a deeper reckoning needs to occur in order to fully restore both the broader public trust and the safety of immigrants and people of colour in the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board (KPRDSB). This is particularly urgent for those who also face poverty. It is disturbing to know that someone with such deeply racist views has remained in this position for almost 8 years. How did this obvious violation go undetected or unreported by so many, for so long? At minimum then, this incident calls for the need for a full equity audit in which anti-racism is central. This incluides the development and implementation of procedures for identifying and addressing both individual and systemic racism at all times.
The time for definitive action is now. We applaud the Board of Trustees actions so far, but it is now time for the next step. It is time to put the needs of the most vulnerable members of the public at the centre and restore their trust in the local education system. It is time for Mr. Gilchrist to be removed, and it is time for a full equity audit to be taken and acted upon.
------
For some of the news coverage, copy and paste these links into your web address bar:
http://www.cbc.ca/ottawa/media/audio/ontariotoday/06e.ram
http://www.mykawartha.com/news/article/27222
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080306.GILCHRIST06/TPStory/?query=gilchrist
http://www.northumberlandtoday.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=931743
http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=931218&auth=ANDREA+HOUSTON
http://www.northumberlandtoday.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=931767
http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=931221
http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=931222&auth=ANDREA+HOUSTON
http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=931223
http://www.northumberlandtoday.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=928731&auth=Andrea+Houston%2c+Peterborough+Examiner
------
To read Gilchrist's Statement for yourself CLICK HERE
To read letters of condemnation CLICK HERE
------
PCAP Statement:
Dear Board of Trustees and Diane Llloyd,
PCAP is a direct action anti-poverty group made up of poor people and their allies, and we are committed to challenging policies that affect poor, homeless and working communities and speaking out against all forms of injustice.
We are pleased to join voices here today in solidarity with other groups and organizations expressing outrage and concern about Trustee Gordon Gilchrist's racist, anti-immigrant public statements of last week. We also thank the Trustees and the Equity and Diversity Committee for applying censure to Mr. Gilchrist for violating the public trust.
At PCAP, however, we feel that further action is now required, and it is urgent. It is simply unacceptable that Mr. Gilchrist be permitted to continue on in his position as a servant of the public. His racist and anti-immigrant statements have clearly demonstrated that he is unworthy of the position. Indeed it is an abomination of the position to call him a Trustee when he has so clearly violated all of the basic principles of public trusteeship defined in the policy.
Statistics on racism in education have long revealed a pattern of deep inequality for racialized students in Canada's school system. As the Colour of Poverty Campaign so clearly shows, "Racialized students face discrimination in schools. They are often streamed into lower level non-academic programs, and unfairly targeted for expulsion. Children from poor families are half as likely to attend university as those who are well-off, and some racialized groups have very low rates of high school completion." Furthermore, "they have few teachers and other role models from racialized communities who they see working within the various fields of education." To make matters worse, aboriginal students and immigrant students of colour living in poverty bear the brunt of inequality in the education and all of Canada's institutions. For PCAP, we recognize the racialization of poverty as a serious problem in this country when "32% of children in racialized families, and 47% of children in recent immigrant families in Ontario live in poverty". That is a national outrage.
We have a responsibility to acknowledge these deep inequalities when they occur in our communities. We have placed the trust in our Board to take action against members of the public like Trustee Gilchrist who clearly contributie to this problem.
He has devalued diversity, created a climate of hostility towards racialized immigrants, denigrated inclusiveness, deployed stereotypes, contributed to a climate of mistrust between the Board and the diverse communities it represents (especially aboriginal and racial/ethnic communities), violated the Human Rights Code, and compromised the Board's commitment to valuing racial diversity. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.
PCAP supports the Board in taking more definitive action to protect ALL students and families - this means recognizing that the effects of racism will continue unless Mr. Gilchrist is removed.
Removing Mr. Gilchrist, however, is not enough. PCAP also feels that a deeper reckoning needs to occur in order to fully restore both the broader public trust and the safety of immigrants and people of colour in the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board (KPRDSB). This is particularly urgent for those who also face poverty. It is disturbing to know that someone with such deeply racist views has remained in this position for almost 8 years. How did this obvious violation go undetected or unreported by so many, for so long? At minimum then, this incident calls for the need for a full equity audit in which anti-racism is central. This incluides the development and implementation of procedures for identifying and addressing both individual and systemic racism at all times.
The time for definitive action is now. We applaud the Board of Trustees actions so far, but it is now time for the next step. It is time to put the needs of the most vulnerable members of the public at the centre and restore their trust in the local education system. It is time for Mr. Gilchrist to be removed, and it is time for a full equity audit to be taken and acted upon.
------
For some of the news coverage, copy and paste these links into your web address bar:
http://www.cbc.ca/ottawa/media/audio/ontariotoday/06e.ram
http://www.mykawartha.com/news/article/27222
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080306.GILCHRIST06/TPStory/?query=gilchrist
http://www.northumberlandtoday.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=931743
http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=931218&auth=ANDREA+HOUSTON
http://www.northumberlandtoday.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=931767
http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=931221
http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=931222&auth=ANDREA+HOUSTON
http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=931223
http://www.northumberlandtoday.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=928731&auth=Andrea+Houston%2c+Peterborough+Examiner
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