OPEN LETTER

 October 6, 2026

 To: The Honourable Paul Calandra, Minister of Education 

Five Months of Silence Is Not Accountability: ABR-SD calls for Answers 

Re: DPCDSB's silence and withdrawal from Black, African and Caribbean communities following the April 9 incident 

Minister Calandra: 

More than five months have passed since a Peel Regional Police (PRP) presentation on youth gangs to administrators and superintendents of the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board (DPCDSB) caused deep concern among Black educators and Black, African and Caribbean communities in Peel. 

The following day, DPCDSB acknowledged the harm and apologized, recognizing that aspects of the presentation reinforced harmful stereotypes and deficit-based narratives about Black youth. Peel Regional Police also apologized. Then something changed. 

DPCDSB retreated from its initial response and, in the months since, has been largely silent. Representatives who had participated in the Anti-Black Racism & Systemic Discrimination (ABR-SD) Collective's Education Committee ceased attending. DPCDSB did not respond to our repeated requests to meet nor did they participate in the September 23 community meeting convened by Peel Regional Police concerning the incident. 

For a school board that serves thousands of Black and other racialized students and families, this withdrawal from community is deeply troubling. An institution cannot withdraw from a community when the conversation becomes difficult and still claim to be committed to community engagement and inclusion. 

More than an apology 

We acknowledge that Peel Regional Police has taken steps beyond its initial apology. We were not fully satisfied with everything presented at the September 23 meeting involving PRP and its Anti-Racism Advisory Committee, and questions remain. However, PRP reviewed the circumstances and processes that led to the April 9 incident and returned to community to discuss its findings and hear our concerns. 

DPCDSB has not. That distinction matters. Accountability is not demonstrated by an apology alone. It requires examining what happened, listening to those affected, identifying what needs to change and returning to those who were harmed to give account for what has been done. 

The Black, African and Caribbean communities, the Anti-Black Racism & Systemic Discrimination Collective and others have been waiting more than five months for that conversation with DPCDSB. 

The Ministry cannot be separated from this silence 

We recognize that DPCDSB is not operating under its normal governance structure. The Board is under provincial supervision, with control and charge of its administration vested in the Ministry of Education and Rick Byers appointed as supervisor. That changes where accountability lies. 

DPCDSB's withdrawal from community engagement has occurred while the Board is under Ministry supervision. We therefore ask you and the Ministry-appointed supervisor the following: 

•   Did the Ministry of Education or the supervisor direct DPCDSB to retreat from its initial apology and/or         restrict DPCDSB representatives from engaging with Black, African and Caribbean communities about the   April 9 incident? If so, why? 

•   If no such direction was given, how does the Ministry explain more than five months of silence and              DPCDSB's withdrawal from established community relationships while under Ministry supervision?

These questions are particularly important because, when you were asked in the Ontario Legislature on April 20 whether you or your Ministry had influenced DPCDSB's retreat from its apology, you did not answer that question. Instead, you defended the presentation as an “accurate, unvarnished reflection” of challenges facing Peel schools and stated that you would not apologize for that position. We are asking you again.

Black students deserve an answer 

This is no longer just about what happened on April 9. It is also about what has happened or not happened since. 

What message is sent to Black students when concerns about harmful stereotypes connecting Black youth with criminality are followed by institutional silence? What message is sent to Black educators who raised concerns? And what message is sent to Black, African and Caribbean communities when an established relationship with their school board disappears precisely when that relationship is most needed? 

The Ministry describes school boards as responsible for student well-being and for engaging parents and communities. Those responsibilities do not disappear when a board is placed under supervision. If anything, supervision should strengthen accountability, not diminish it. 

We have said before that trust is not lost because institutions make mistakes; it is lost when accountability never arrives. More than five months later, we are still waiting. 

Minister Calandra, the questions are now yours. 

We call on you to respond publicly and to meet directly with representatives of Black, African and Caribbean communities, the ABR-SD Collective and students in Peel to explain what has happened since April 9 and how meaningful engagement with DPCDSB will be restored. 

Our communities deserve answers. Our children deserve better. 

The Anti-Black Racism and Systemic Discrimination Collective of Peel (ABR-SD) is a community-led collective made up of over 50 community organizations advocating for meaningful change to eliminate racist and discriminatory policies, practices and processes from Peel Region’s organizations and institutions.

For media inquiries, please contact: Administrative Coordinator, at connect@abrsdpeel.ca.