Jewish group calls on Ontario government to address antisemitism in schools following federal report
'Without the proper tools or understanding, this has proven to be problematic for individual school boards to navigate,' he said.
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The Canadian Jewish group is also asking the province to create a 'standardized hate reporting system' and to streamline the release of its Holocaust education curriculum. The latter was delayed after the Ford government appointed supervisors to oversee some of the largest school boards in the province in early July, including the Toronto District School Board (TDSB).
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CIJA's public appeal comes just days after it sent a letter to Education Minister Paul Calandra and Minister of Citizenship and Multiculturalism Graham McGregor on July 18 advocating the need for a 'joint strategy to address antisemitism within Ontario public schools.'
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The letter, which was also authored by Landau and publicized on Wednesday morning, refers extensively to last week's Ontario public school antisemitism report. The report found 10 per cent of Jewish students had 'directly experienced' an antisemitic incident between the October 7 Hamas attacks and January 2025 and that over 40 per cent of encounters 'involved Nazi salutes, glorification of (Adolph) Hitler, or similar expressions of hate.'
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Following the release of a federal report confirming widespread antisemitism within Ontario's schools, we wrote to the Government of Ontario, urging them to develop and implement a strategy to stop antisemitism in our classrooms. Jewish students are being harassed, excluded, and… pic.twitter.com/1mfGwtPUEK
— CIJA (@CIJAinfo) July 23, 2025
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On Wednesday, Calandra told the Post in a written statement that he was 'deeply concerned, angry and frustrated with the findings of a recent report on antisemitism in Ontario schools' and he pledged to intervene if school leaders fail to uphold standards.
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'Schools must be a safe place for every student to learn in a respectful and supportive environment. I expect school boards across the province to focus on student achievement and creating supportive classrooms, free of discrimination in any form, absent of divisive politics that leave students feeling unsafe, parents frustrated and angry, and teachers who simply want to teach but unable to do so,' the Conservative MPP said.
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'If boards are unable to succeed in their main mandate ‚ student achievement — by delivering safe schools, then I will step in.'
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The minister of citizenship and multiculturalism reiterated Calandra's statement and directed the Post to the Education Minister's statement published on X.
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Deborah Lyons, Canada's special envoy on antisemitism, told National Post in a written statement last week that the report's findings demonstrated the 'need to seriously consider antisemitism education, not just Holocaust education.'
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'Something has gone terribly wrong with our promises of 'Never Again' when over 40 per cent of the incidents in this study involved Nazi salutes, Holocaust denial, and overt verbal hate such as 'Hitler should have finished the job,'' said the former Canadian ambassador to Israel.
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Story continues below advertisement 'The final alignment of the highway has not yet been determined,' the developer argued in their 2024 submission. 'Should the highway be finalized within our modified route alignment, the proposed policies of the Official Plan Amendment would permit development around the highway without amendment to the Official Plan.' View image in full screen Global News The overall development, slated to be built on five parcels of land roughly 155 hectares in size, would include nearly 2,500 residential units – the majority of which would be lucrative single-family homes – commercial units, parkland and new schools. Preserving the entire project, however, would have required the Ford government to significantly alter the highway's path. 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