Police Investigating After Several Ontario Schools Receive Bomb Threats

An Ontario Provincial Police logo is shown during a press conference, in Barrie, Ont., on April 3, 2019. The Canadian Press/Nathan Denette

Police are investigating after several schools in the GTA and Northern Ontario received bomb threats Nov. 1, causing some to evacuate and others to shut down for the day.

Toronto police in a Nov. 1 social media post said they had been called to search three schools: Kipling Collegiate Institute, Lakeshore Collegiate Institute, and Western Technical-Commercial School.

“All three schools were swept and cleared by police,” Toronto police said. “No bombs were located.”

Toronto School Board said two additional schools—The Student School and Ursula Franklin Academy—had received threats but were also cleared by Toronto police.

Meanwhile, the Cybercrime Investigations Team and local Crime Units of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is investigating bomb threats made to schools in Northern Ontario.

“In some cases, the threats came in to the school boards, impacting a number of schools in one message,” OPP spokesperson Bill Dickson told The Epoch Times in an email.

Mr. Dickson said he did not want to speculate on if the threats were related, but acknowledged that some of the threats were extortion efforts.

“The individual or individuals did demand payment as part of the threats,” he said, adding he was not aware how many schools were involved.

Schools Close

Some of the schools that received threats posted alerts on their social media pages.

The Conseil scolaire catholique de district des Grandes Rivières (CSCDGR) said it decided to close schools in the area as a precaution after receiving a threat. The Catholic board supervises schools from Hearst to Temiskaming Shores.

“Later in the day, the police informed us that they felt the threat was unfounded. We were, therefore, able to inspect all our schools,” director of education Sylvie Petroski said in a Nov. 1 social media post.

The Northeast Catholic School Board, which oversees schools in Cochrane and Timiskaming Districts, issued a similar notice on the same day.

“All NCDSB schools and the board office are closed due to an emergency situation relating to student and staff safety. The closures were made under the advisement of OPP. Additional information will be shared with students, staff, and families as it becomes available,” the school posted on its Facebook page.

A Nov. 2 post by the NCDSB said schools would be open and there were “no further safety concerns at this time.”

OPP East Region said they did not find any indication of bombs during their Nov. 1 investigation.

“We have found no devices and no indication this is anything beyond a threat, but the safety and security of everyone, including students, is a top priority,” they said on X. “The investigation is ongoing. Any questions about the schools should be directed to the schools or school boards.”

Toronto School Board issued a letter Nov. 1 about the incident, a spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an email.

“We were made aware of a possible bomb threat against Western Technical & Commercial School, TheStudentSchool and Ursula Franklin Academy,” said the letter, signed by acting principal Georgia Gallagher. “Other schools in the Toronto District School Board also received similar threats. While we had no reason to believe that this threat was credible, we always take any threat against the school, students, or staff very seriously.”

Ms. Gallagher said in the letter that Toronto Police had been contacted.

“Out of abundance of caution, the decision was made to dismiss students early at 2:55 p.m. Police have now confirmed there is no credible threat to our school community,” she wrote.

The Epoch Times reached out to the Toronto police for further comment but did not hear back by publication time.