This article originally appeared in the National Post. Below is an excerpt from the article.
By Patrice Dutil, February 24, 2025
The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) promotes the same idea. Last week, it voted 11-7 in favour of renaming Dundas Junior Public School, Ryerson Community School and Sir John A. Macdonald Collegiate Institute.
The reason, according to a discussion paper issued last month, was that those men had “an explicit role in
perpetuating … cultural genocide or other types of systemic violence, such as sexual and gender-based violence and religious persecution.”
The report also stated that these names may have a “potential impact … on students and staff based on colonial history, anti-indigenous racism and their connection to systems of oppression.”
The report provided no proof for either of those grave accusations. Like the U.S. president, the TDSB does not seem to think that verifiable facts are relevant to a debate. The report offered a list of references that studiously avoided any scientific (i.e., validated or peer reviewed) sources. No books made the list, either. In the tradition of Donald J. Trump, this was evidence-free policymaking on the fly.
Dundas Junior Public School was founded in 1917, a year in which Canada was nearly torn apart by the strain of war. It was thus named because it stood on Dundas Street East and the name was well known. Henry Dundas distinguished himself in his defence of enslaved people and in championing anti-slavery policies throughout the Commonwealth.
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