The YRDSB is a hive of Social Justice activism
The Kojo Institute is under review, but still getting contracts
By
Earlier this week, Melanie Bennet - who produces the weekly Canadian Gender Report with Shannon Douglas - posted the results of a freedom of information request she made in August inquiring into some questionable conduct at the York Region District School Board (YRDSB).
Apparently, the YRDSB paid a queer activist organization called “The 519”, $23,817.51 to write their Gender Expressions and Identity policy. This exorbitant amount included “‘Introduction to Gender and Sexuality Diversity’ delivered by Dylan Bruxer for $7,439.17 (including HST)” :
So who is Dylan Bruxer? It appears his experience includes Human Rights Officer at the Peel District School Board (PDSB) as well as a 2-year stint as Program Coordinator at the notoriously woke Egale Canada (Read about Egale here).
For those of us who speak woke, glaringly evident. are the big and brightly radiant red flags flapping brilliantly in the persistent wind. They simply cannot be missed, or ignored. Bruxer’s top-line bio and summary track record point to a few of the typical haunts of the critical social justice activist who masquerades around in some other named role. “Human Rights Officer,” yeah right that’s a good one. A Human Rights Officer employed by a modern schoolboard is a radical diversity Czar, as is any person employed by a radically progressive activist outfit like Egale Canada.
Do read Eva Kurilova’s excellent investigative work on Egale mentioned above.
“They also paid $7,439.17 (including HST) to Dylan for some good old pro-racism and anti-biology training called ‘Race & Queerness & Deep dive into Trans Affirming Practice.’ Goes along way to explaining why young people are so angry.” - Melanie Bennet.
Below is Invoice #AR5141:
“Oh look, Dylan was also paid yet another $7,439.17 to deliver ‘Sexuality and Gender to Primary Ages.’ I'd love Dylan to explain why he believes that pre pubescent children have sexuality that requires exploring? Maybe he believes in the ‘myth of childhood innocence’?” - Melanie Bennet
Below is Invoice # AR5142:
And another payment to Missy Sturtevant for a PD session I think called "Fostering Queer and Trans-Inclusive Work Environments" $750:
Another big red flag. Melanie also shared this invoice to the Kojo Institute. "Jan 24 2022 virtual session (90-minutes) $750” :
Woke Watch Canada readers will remember that Kiki Ojo-Thompson, of the “Kojo Institute,” was the bully who berated the beloved late Toronto principle, Richard Bilkszto in a Diversity workshop attended by 200 of his colleagues. Richard, who used to assist me and a number of other journalists in writing critical analysis of education in Canada, was so distraught from the public abuse from Ojo-Thompson, abuse that went undefended by his peers, he tragically took his own life in July of this year.
My thoughts about this awful time were published in these pages on July 20th, in a piece called The Tragedy of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
On October 20th, X user, JamieJohnson5, noticed that Ojo-Thompson was still receiving contracts to perform Diversity and Antiracism workshops in Ontario schools. He asked, “Why is Ojo-Thompson…allowed to continue practicing at our publicly-funded schools while her questionable methods are under review? Why haven’t the (TDSB Director) & (HWDSB Director) been reprimanded for the chillingly insensitive way they handled Richard Bilkszto?”
Indeed, I would love to get answers to JamieJohnson5’s questions.
Side note: An important analysis of the events involving Richard Bilkszto and Kojo-Thompson was written by Rupa Subramanya and Ari Blaff and was published on Aug 3rd in the The Free Press.
Sue-Ann Levy writing for True North on October 19th about online Anti-racism workshops at YRDSB facilitated by the Kojo Institute for teachers during their Professional Development day on October 20th, made the following comment:
“…what I find obscene – or at the very least in extremely poor taste– is the online, recorded series of sessions called ‘Leading Change for Equity: Anti-Black Racism Training Education’…is being offered by the controversial Kike Ojo-Thomson of the Kojo Institute.”
Chanel Pfahl offers an analysis of the full day of “professional development” indoctrination of YRDSB elementary teachers that took place on October 20th.
Chanel begins with:
“EQAO (Education Quality and Accountability Office) results from last spring indicate only 50% of grade 6 students in Ontario met the provincial standards in math, and guess what the board decided to focus on, yet again? …You guessed it: ‘racism.’”
Returning to the Kojo Institute. An Education Ministry review and an internal TDSB review regarding the diversity workshop where Ojo-Thompson berated Richard, implying he was a “weed” and a “white supremacist” among other things, are still ongoing. As Sue-Ann stated in her report, “his family and his lawyer Lisa Bildy attribute the humiliation, bullying and harassment handed to Bilkszto at two of Ojo-Johnson’s sessions in the spring of 2021 to his untimely death.”
This is serious stuff. The two reviews currently underway must be completed in a timely fashion. Until they are, it is ill advised at best and maliciously cruel at worst to continue giving Ojo-Thompson lucrative contracts with public institutions until the ramifications of her past actions can be fully understood.
Beyond the insult and injustice of school boards insisting on continued relations with Kojo Institute, readers should take notice of the time, money, and resources that school boards like the YRDSB are dedicating to all manner of non-academic pursuits that fit within the broad parameters of Social Justice activism. Queer activists and race activists and decolonizing activists are relentless in the way they saturate the space around them with ideology. Always pushing, promoting, and producing more ideology. This is an expansionist movement that does not tolerate thought dissenters, if it succeeds, there will be no bright future for any but the thoroughly decolonized.
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Thanks for reading. For more from this author read, School board shows true colours
Also, for more evidence of the ideological indoctrination in Canadian education, read Yes, schools are indoctrinating kids! And also, What age should kids learn about "felching?"
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In this wonderful article there are many wise observations, one from Chanel being: “EQAO (Education Quality and Accountability Office) results from last spring indicate only 50% of grade 6 students in Ontario met the provincial standards in math, and guess what the board decided to focus on, yet again? …You guessed it: ‘racism.’” The focus on race is an affront to public education, and its effect is only more racism as we are all reduced to our skin colour or ethnicity. Public education has to rid itself of woke indoctrinators and remind itself of its educational purpose.
It is absolutely critical to distribute this article to as many people as possible and get them to write to Minister of Education Lecce asking him to order all school boards to do two things: 1) Never to hire the Kojo Institute for antiracism training, because in Richard's case they were found abusive in the WSIB decision, and their harassment led to his death. 2) To order a pause to ALL antiracism training until the Ministry vets all their personnel for anti-white bias. Stephen.Lecce@pc.ola.org Contact your networks and get this rolling. The use of Kojo is like spitting on Richard's grave. It is appalling.