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As the school year begins, we must actively and intentionally work to end the scourges of hate and violence in our education systems and communities.  

TORONTO — The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) has reached an important milestone with the release of its What We Heard Report on anti-Black racism in Ontario’s publicly-funded Education System.

The OHRC launched its What We Heard Report on anti-Black racism in education. To continue engaging in dialogue with other key partners and stakeholders in education, the OHRC is issuing a call for written submissions on concrete solutions to address anti-Black racism in Ontario’s publicly funded education system. The goal is to gather additional information including recommendations for solutions and action to empower and hold duty-holders accountable.

On June 27, 2023, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) released its Anti-Black Racism in Education Roundtables: What We Heard Report. The roundtables held in April 2023, provided a space for students and duty-holders in the education sector to share solution-focused and action-oriented recommendations. For the next action, the OHRC is calling on key partners and stakeholders in education for written submissions on concrete and practical solutions to address anti-Black racism in Ontario’s publicly funded education system. This step is to develop an ongoing dialogue with those key partners and stakeholders, and gather additional information, including actions for implementation, to empower, and to hold duty-holders accountable. 

Recognizing a rise in acts of anti-Black racism in Ontario communities and public schools, in March 2023, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) announced an initiative to tackle the crisis of systemic anti-Black racism in Ontario’s publicly-funded education system. The OHRC is committed to the development of a province-wide strategy on accountability for, and impact of, anti-Black racism and discrimination in education related to the roles and functions of the education sector, community, and the OHRC.

As this school year ends, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) takes this opportunity to reflect on what it heard concerning the challenges faced by students, parents, educators, and administrators in Ontario’s public education system. 

Black leadership and community engagement have been at the forefront of action to address systemic discrimination and advance racial equity in Ontario. The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) recognizes that Black individuals, organizations, and grassroots movements have been working on issues of anti-Black racism in education for decades. The OHRC acknowledges and embraces the work of generations of grassroots and community-led organizing and academics and the significant strides toward protecting the safety and well-being of Black children in Ontario’s publicly funded education system. The OHRC has tried to capture and preserve those works in its initiative to address anti-Black racism in Ontario’s education system. We are grateful for those works and honour the people who have contributed to them.

Mounting evidence shows that groups identified under Ontario’s Human Rights Code have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic. These effects are being exacerbated by the current Omicron wave and the recent decisions to close and reopen schools.

The Human Rights Code requires proactive planning to prevent or remove barriers to people with disabilities and older adults in services. The OHRC has written to government ministers to encourage them to make sure people with disabilities and older adults will have the same opportunity as others to obtain the health card renewal online.

The OHRC is concerned that the Township of Brock’s Interim Control By-law 2994-2020 to "prohibit the establishment of Supportive Housing and Modular Construction, including Manufactured Dwelling Houses" creates barriers to establishing and accessing supportive housing, which may be discriminatory under the Human Rights Code. The OHRC calls on Council to remove any barriers that have a discriminatory effect as soon as possible, and to allow such supportive housing projects to proceed.