Ontario Premier Doug Ford speaks during a press conference in Niagara Falls, Ont., on Sept. 21, 2023.Tara Walton/The Canadian Press
Ontario Premier Doug Ford condemned the Toronto District School Board for a field trip last week where videos appeared to show students marching alongside a rally by pro-Palestinian protesters.
The excursion to downtown Toronto last Wednesday was attended by students from about 15 schools to observe the Grassy Narrows River Run, an event in support of the Grassy Narrows First Nation and its efforts to address mercury contamination affecting their community.
However, videos circulating on social media appear to show students being led through a march and participating in a pro-Palestinian rally.
“I think it’s disgraceful. You’re trying to indoctrinate our kids,” Mr. Ford said on Monday. “They should be in the classroom learning about reading, writing, spelling, arithmetic, the whole shebang. But instead, the TDSB and these teachers want to bring them down to a rally, a Palestinian rally, and it’s ridiculous.”
Mr. Ford was asked about the field trip during a housing infrastructure announcement in Cobourg, Ont.
The Premier called for an investigation into how the excursion was permitted.
“We’ll be all over this and make sure people are held accountable and they think twice about bringing young, little kids without the parents’ permission on these school trips. It’s disgusting,” he said.
The TDSB said last week that it would investigate the circumstances surrounding the trip after pressure from community members and the province’s Education Minister, Jill Dunlop.
Ms. Dunlop wrote in a social media post on Thursday that she was “deeply disappointed” after learning about the field trip.
“Compromising the security and safety of students is unacceptable. I expect TDSB to conduct a thorough review of the situation and ensure accountability with parents and students to prevent future incidents,” she said.
TDSB spokesman Ryan Bird said on Monday that students from about 15 schools attended the trip, although the results of the investigation would confirm the exact number of schools that were present.
Mr. Bird said that children as young as eight were taken on the excursion, although most students were in high school. The TDSB had described the event as an educational experience to hear from Indigenous voices.
The board apologized for the harm the excursion caused to students.
In a statement on its website on Friday, the board said that if policies and professional standards were not followed, it would take “appropriate action, which may include discipline and/or changes to our field trip process to ensure accountability.”
The board said that students should not participate in organized protests as part of a field trip and that would be clarified with its schools.
“We will continue to critically evaluate requests for field trips in accordance with our policies and procedures. The safety and the well-being of our students will continue to be our top priority,” the board had said on Friday.