TWO CANDIDATES VOW OPPOSITION TO TEACHING CRT IN SCHOOLS

Two Lanark-frontenackingston candidates have expressed their displeasure with "critical race theory" (CRT) being taught in Ontario's publicly funded schools.

New Blue party candidate Marcin Lewandowski and Ontario Party candidate Thomas Mulder were opposed to Bill 67, the Racial Equity in the Education System Act, 2022, which was carried on second reading on March 2 at Queen's Park and was at the committee stage when the election was called on May 3.

BILL DETAILS

The bill would amend education legislation and "require the minister (of education) to direct a board to develop its anti-racism accountability report if, in the opinion of the minister, there is indication that the board's new teacher induction program does not include anti-racism and racial equity training."

It would also add "antiracism related responsibilities to the duties of boards," and would introduce "fines for persons who disrupt or attempt to disrupt proceedings of a school or class (using) racist language or activities."

Teachers' performance appraisals would "include competencies related to (their) anti-racism awareness and efforts to promote racial equity."

NEW BLUE OPPOSE

"Why are we against it?" asked Lewandowski during an interview on Tuesday, May 3. "At the core of this bill, there needs to be a mechanism ... set up by the minister and school boards to determine if students or teachers have racist views."

If a teacher fails to pass this, "essentially, you're losing your job."

His concern was that "a person can be racist consciously or subconsciously. You don't even have to behave in a certain way."

He also felt that this bill, if passed, could be used as a weapon against teachers.

"CRT is racist, personally (speaking)," he said.

"We are judging people by the colour of their skin, which is, by me, racist ... it prioritizes race over anything else."

ONTARIO PARTY

In an interview on May 3, Mulder, said he sees CRT, "in a nutshell, as the current oppressor groups are responsible for past oppression of other groups."

As an example of his belief in "reverse racism" was the recent posting of at least two top-tier research positions at the University of Waterloo in which applicants are limited to qualified "women, transgender, non-binary or two spirit." The restrictions are aimed at addressing a lack of diversity among Canadian research chairs.

WHAT IS CRT?

"It's deeply troubling that Canadian politicians are using those talking points" about CRT, said Ellen Berrey, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Toronto, and author of two books, "The Enigma of Diversity: The Language of Race and the Limits of Racial Justice," and "Rights on Trial: How Workplace Discrimination Law Perpetuates Inequality."

Speaking during a phone interview from her Toronto classroom on Tuesday, May 10, she said that it was "important to differentiate between CRT as a far-right talking point," and CRT as an "intellectual body of scholarship," which can trace its roots to Harvard University's law school and the research of Derrick Bell, and others, in the 1970s.

STRUCTURES

"We have to look at racism as a set of patterns that lead to discrepancies in outcomes," she said.

There are patterns of behaviour in society's institutions where racism is baked in, if not necessarily overt.

"You don't need racist individuals at all to have racism," she said.

The justice system, for another example, places more of a premium on street and property crime prosecution than whitecollar crimes.

BILL 67

Berrey has read Bill 67 and sees it "as a step forward for the Ontario education system," though she has some reservations about how effective it would be. It is hard to "change the direction of a giant freighter ship," she said, when it comes to changing racism views and culture.

She called the bill "a great goal," but it had to be tempered with realistic expectations, but there will be "mistakes along the way."

EQUITY

Equality is the belief that "everybody should be treated the same," Berrey said, but CRT makes a "strong critique of that," since racism "is not going to get solved by treating everybody the same ... different groups may need different resources."

She stressed that this may need to be done to help one group (like affirmative action) but "not for the purposes of trying to harm a group."

STORY BEHIND THE STORY: The issue of critical race theory, which has become an issue in American elections, has made an appearance in the Ontario provincial election, with two Lanark-frontenackingston candidates saying that they are opposed to it being taught in the province's schools. Reporter Desmond Devoy wanted to find out why they oppose it, and what critical race theory actually is.