email : Webview : Trustee Pamela Gough Newsletter

August 2, 2018 Subscribe to my Newsletter. Visit my website. Follow me.

Dear Ward 3 Resident,

This is a special issue of the newsletter. The provincial government has made many announcements recently, some of which are going to affect both the governance and the curriculum of our TDSB system. I am following these closely and continue to work on your behalf during the summer break. Here's a quick summary.

Ontario Health and Physical Education Curriculum

The new Minister of Education, Lisa Thompson, has announced that the current curriculum for health and physical education is going to be repealed and, pending consultations, the province will go back to the 1998 curriculum, which was used until 2014. This outdated curriculum was written before the internet became widely used. It does not address important current issues for children and youth, including consent, cyber-bullying, or understanding the many kinds of gender identities and family structures that are protected under human rights legislation in our province.

A number of parents have contacted me with concerns about this government direction, and requests for more information about the provincial consultation so they can take part.

At the TDSB, our director and chair have made it clear that our board intends to continue teaching elements of the modernized curriculum that are covered by human rights legislation, our equity policies, and our mandate under the Education Act to care for the well-being and health needs of our students. Many other boards have expressed the same intention to continue to teach the areas that fall into the "gap" between the old curriculum and the new. Our board is seeking clarification from the Ministry of Education on the proposed public consultations. When we hear more, I will convey this to you.

Changes to ward boundaries in the TDSB

The premier has this week introduced legislation that will affect GTA municipal and regional elections, including reducing the number of Toronto city council wards down to 25 from the established number of 47. The new wards are to match existing federal and provincial ridings. The government has made it clear that the number of TDSB trustees, currently 22, will not change. So with 22 TDSB trustee wards and 25 new city wards, our system will need to adjust some ward boundaries. The government has told the TDSB that no public consultation will be allowed, and changes will need to be decided by August 14. You can read the TDSB's news release about how Bill 5, the Better Local Government Act, impacts TDSB electoral boundaries and the nomination deadline here.

The trustees will be meeting next week to determine the board's response to the government direction. At the moment it does not appear that major changes will take place in our ward, which already comprises the provincial/federal riding of Etobicoke-Lakeshore. I'll continue to keep you updated on this.