Toronto teacher fired for wearing blackface to school should get his job back, arbitrator rules

National Post

a day ago

An arbitrator has ordered that a white Toronto teacher who was terminated after he showed up at school in blackface for Halloween and told people he was dressed as a zombie should be reinstated and compensated for all wages and benefits lost in the last 20 months.
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Gorian Surlan showed remorse for his actions, according to an arbitrator, who substituted a nearly two-year suspension for the high school teacher's penalty. Surlan, who had been teaching for 19 years, came to work at Parkdale Collegiate Institute in black face makeup and black clothing on Oct. 29, 2021.
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He wore the costume to an assembly that morning dubbed 'Where Everybody Belongs' that was attended by about 250 Grade 9 students and their mentors. Three students approached their vice-principal about Surlan's costume, saying he was in blackface. One student showed her a photo of his costume. Two of them were visibly upset and one was crying, Norm Jesin, the arbitrator, wrote in a decision dated Aug. 14.
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'He was asked if he was aware of the controversy over Justin Trudeau appearing as Aladdin in blackface. He said he was but that he was not trying to depict any person. Rather he was attempting to portray a zombie.'
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Surlan, now 63, grieved his termination, arguing he 'was unjustly discharged from his employment on November 15, 2021, contrary to the collective agreement between' the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation and the Toronto District School Board.
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Born in Serbia, he witnessed many atrocities while working for the International Red Cross during the Bosnian war.
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Those 'left a deep impact on him,' said the arbitrator.
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'He became a member of the Ontario College of Teachers and obtained qualifications in a number of disciplines including business studies, special education, librarianship, cooperative education and English as a second language,' Jesin said.
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He took sabbaticals every five years, teaching in Nigeria and Vietnam, and had no previous discipline record before the blackface incident, said the arbitrator.