Ontario Advocacy Group demands immediate Provincial oversight of Dufferin-Peel Catholic School Board

BY PAUL JUNOR

The advocacy group Parents of Black Children (PoBC) has long stood at the forefront of the fight for social justice, educational equity, and racial accountability across Ontario. Well-known among educational stakeholders including teachers’ unions, parents, trustees, school administrators, and Ministry of Education officials. PoBC has become a powerful voice for marginalized students and families.

For years, community members have raised serious concerns regarding systemic racism (particularly anti-Black racism) and institutional harassment within the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board (DPCDSB). In response to the ongoing harm inflicted on Black students and families, PoBC has issued an urgent call to the Ontario Ministry of Education to place the DPCDSB under immediate supervision.

“PoBC calls for supervision of DPCDSB in response to racist actions.”

The May edition of the PoBC newsletter, released Thursday, May 8^th, 2025, outlines the organization’s demands. It states unequivocally that PoBC is “Demanding urgent action from the Ministry of Education and the removal of DPCDSB leadership to protect Black students.” The group has been meticulously documenting patterns of institutional racism across DPCDSB, one of the largest Catholic school boards in the Greater Toronto Area.

“For years,” the newsletter reads, “Black students and their families in the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board (DPCDSB) have faced systemic racism, violence, and neglect while the Ontario Ministry of Education remains silent.” PoBC asserts that this long-standing inaction warrants “Immediate intervention to protect Black children and dismantle the systems that harm us.”

The newsletter cites alarming data, including:

• 71 documented cases of anti-Black racism, with 40% involving students with exceptionalities and neurological differences
• 12 legal cases filed, with 15 more currently in progress
• DPCDSB’s refusal to engage in live meetings, even after a violent police assault on a Black student

PoBC emphasizes that these incidents are not isolated or accidental. “This is not just about misconduct, it is a pattern of racial violence and systemic neglect,” the group states.

Based on this pattern, PoBC is calling for:

• The immediate removal of Director Marianne Mazzorati and her senior leadership team
• Full provincial intervention and direct oversight by the Minister of Education
• An independent review of DPCDSB practices in discipline, hiring, and school safety
• Immediate implementation of anti-racism accountability measures

The group maintains that the Ministry’s silence is contributing to the: mental, emotional, and academic harm of Black students. The damage, it says, is devastating.

PoBC further highlights specific allegations, including:

• Director Marianne Mazzorati allegedly using a racial slur to describe South Asian people during a PoBC call
• The board has not appointed a single Black superintendent in over 50 years
• DPCDSB leads the province in suspensions and expulsions of Black students
• Police have been called on Black children as young as six years old
• A vice principal used racist descriptions of Black students in conversation with guidance staff
• A Black mother, after raising concerns about racism, was called “vulgar and abusive” by Director Mazzorati, while allegedly racist educators remain protected

The incidents described by PoBC paint a troubling picture of systemic failure and racial injustice. The organization remains hopeful that Minister of Education Paul Calandra will respond to these deeply concerning issues with decisive action and accountability.

For more information about PoBC’s work and advocacy, visit: www.parentsofblackchildren.ca