York school board hires commissioner to tackle human rights issues
Appointment follows tumultuous year for province's third largest school board.

TheStar.com
Aug. 16, 2017
Noor Javed

After a tumultuous year that saw issues of racism and discrimination come to the fore, the York Region District School Board has hired a commissioner to head its newly created Human Rights Office.

The board director and staff conducted interviews with almost 30 candidates this summer before selecting Anthony Anirud, who will be tasked with enhancing equity and tackling issues of racism within the third largest board in the province.

According to a news release sent out on Wednesday, Anirud has 10 years of experience in the areas of human rights law and he has held similar roles at universities including the University of Winnipeg and Trent University, where he helped “support equity, human rights, accessibility and engagement.”

“I’m looking forward to working with trustees, staff, families and community partners and bringing forward innovative and inclusive practices toward advancing educational equity and social justice at the board,” Anirud, who has also worked as a Human Rights Hearing Adjudicator at the Ontario Human Rights Commission, said in the release.

The creation of the office was one of the 22 directives ordered by the Minister of Education this spring, after a three-month probe revealed concerns around racism, and a crisis of leadership and governance within the board.

The report, which was largely critical of then-education director J. Philip Parappally, led to his dismissal in April.

Among the minister’s directives was a clear breakdown for the establishment of a Human Rights Office that would be “responsible for human rights compliance and processes and procedures to receive and respond to/investigate complaints of harassment and discrimination reported by staff, students and parents.”

The board faced intense criticism last year after families and the report claimed that school administrators failed to adequately deal with incidents of racism and discrimination by both staff and school trustees, including anti-black and anti-Muslim incidents.

Thus the immediate goal of this office will be to create a place where human rights-based complaints can be directed and resolved in an open and transparent way.

The office will also be responsible for developing and implementing employment equity strategies, reviewing staffing at French immersion schools, providing mandatory training for staff around disabilities and ending sexual violence and harassment.

“Our board is committed to creating safe, caring and inclusive learning environments where students, staff and visitors feel welcome and human rights are respected,” said interim director of education, Kathi Wallace, in the release.

The commissioner will report to the director of education and is slated to begin his new job on Aug. 28.

The board is expected to hire a permanent director later this fall.