Ontario Schools Must Reverse Decision to Exclude Uniformed Police From Career Day: Education Minister

A file photo of an Ontario Provincial Police logo. Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press

Ontario’s education minister has issued a memo to school boards saying any policies prohibiting uniformed police from entering school grounds for classroom events, such as career day, “must reverse this decision.”

The uniform is “a representation of their duty, and their commitment,“ Minister Stephen Lecce said in his memo on May 11. “School boards who have implemented this type of policy must reverse this decision and ensure our schools remain welcoming to frontline police and all first responders who work around the clock to keep families and schools safe.”

The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) came under criticism from Lecce and Premier Doug Ford last week when its policies prevented a parent from sharing her policing profession with her child’s class.

“Disproportionate police violence against some communities has caused a level of fear associated with the profession,“ OCDSB Chair Lyra Evans said in a letter to Ottawa Police Association president Matthew Cox, which Cox shared with The Epoch Times. ”When police roam the schools, this fear has a detrimental impact on the wellbeing of students, impacting their mental health and academic achievement.”

Police Association Head Talks to Board

Cox has since met with the board’s director of education, Michelle Giroux, and he said he is hopeful the board will reverse its decision.

If some students have had a fearful experience with police, Cox said, “those are the children that we should be spending more time as police officers to try to build that trust and that relationship with.”

Giroux is still planning to meet with the city’s police chief and have further discussions with the board before making a decision, Cox said, “But there was positive dialogue and I feel that—after seeing Minister Lecce’s message and memo that came out yesterday—I’m hoping that that will push it in the right direction.”

“I am writing to set out in the clearest terms my expectation that these parents, and others who proudly wear uniforms as part of their occupation, are to be welcomed to attend career fairs, Bring Your Parent to School Day, and other similar engagements that take place in schools,” Lecce said in his memo.

“Moreover, any parent of a student within a publicly funded school has the right to participate in their child’s education and school experience. This is a right that is non negotiable for any parent, including those who serve in uniform from law enforcement to the Canadian Forces.”

Lecce said that boards with policies excluding police officers “are enabling division instead of bringing all segments of civil society together.”

School Board’s Reaction

OCDSB spokesperson Darcy Knoll told The Epoch Times that it will take into consideration Lecce’s guidance while it continues discussions on the topic with the city’s police chief and other stakeholders.

“These conversations are an opportunity to work together to establish new protocols for police involvement in schools which focus on students, safety, and relationships of trust, respecting the community concerns raised during our police involvement in schools review. The guidance from the Ministry will form part of those discussions,” Knoll said via email.

The board’s review of police involvement in schools included testimony from community members about how a police presence affects them. It informed the trustees’ votes to implement the policy prohibiting uniformed officers from school grounds except for emergency situations.

Grand Erie District School Board (GEDSB), overseeing schools in a region about 100 km southwest of Toronto, recently reversed a policy to exclude uniformed officers from school events.

A police officer whose child attends a GEDSB school was initially told he could present for career day only if he refrained from wearing his uniform. But the board retracted that decision and said he could attend in uniform after all, according to a statement it gave to local publication the Simcoe Reformer. The board apologized and said it values the work and dedication of police officers.

Respect for Officers

Cox said it’s important to keep in mind the recent death of Ontario Provincial Police Sgt. Eric Mueller, who was shot and killed while responding to a disturbance at a home in Bourget, Ont., east of Ottawa.

“We’ve just gone away from people actually showing respect to the police and respecting what police officers do,” Cox said.

That is part of what’s to blame for a spate of officer deaths, Cox said, along with the availability of firearms. The majority of guns used in crimes in Canada are illegally trafficked across the border from the United States, as Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino confirmed during a Global News interview on April 30.

Cox said, “I’ve had several members come to me that fear right now going out to work.”