Latest news with #PeelDistrictSchoolBoard
Toronto Star
6 days ago
- General
- Toronto Star
Peel school board's former anti-discrimination leader sues for wrongful dismissal, breach of contract
The former head of the Peel public school board's anti-discrimination work has sued the board, alleging she was unlawfully fired after years of trying to hold her employer accountable for 'resistance' to equity initiatives. The 41-page statement of claim comes nearly eight years after Poleen Grewal was appointed by the Peel District School Board to advance equity and anti-racism initiatives in its more than 250 schools. The $7.5 million suit alleges in part that the board failed to support those initiatives, sought reprisal against her when she expressed concerns, and ultimately fired her to 'appease staff opposed to equity and anti-Black racism' programs.
Toronto Star
6 days ago
- Business
- Toronto Star
A school board's alleged resistance to equity initiatives + Economists expect BOC to hold interest rate
Good morning. This is the Wednesday, June 4 edition of First Up, the Star's daily morning digest. Sign up to get it earlier each day, in your inbox. The Ford government wants schools to celebrate Ontario Day every June 1. What that will entail is theirs to discover. Here's the latest on a lawsuit against Peel District School Board, how heat is making Ontario workplaces more dangerous, and the Bank of Canada's interest rate decision coming later this morning. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW DON'T MISS Peel school board's former anti-discrimination leader is suing for wrongful dismissal Poleen Grewal is taking PDSB to court for $7.5 million. Here's what she alleges. Shree Paradkar: Human rights complaint filed against Peel school board by its anti-discrimination head Hot days are making Ontario's workplaces more dangerous – and sometimes deadly These graphics show how critical workplace injuries spike on the hottest days of the year. Nearly half of Canadian low- and moderate-income renters surveyed lack air conditioning Economists expect the Bank of Canada to hold the interest rate today Despite rising unemployment, some economists think the bank should lower the interest rate. Here's why. Donald Trump signs order to double tariffs on steel and aluminum starting Wednesday Toronto-area home prices drop 4 per cent as May marks another near-record low for sales WHAT ELSE Investigators responded to reports of the shooting near Flemington Road and Zachary Court just before 8:40 p.m. mendes, elissa One person is dead and five others are injured after a shooting in North York. Meanwhile, police are expected to give an update today about the Scarborough pub mass shooting. A government adviser slammed Mark Carney for promoting 'decarbonized' oil pipelines. Here's why. Ever wanted health care with your rental agreement? This developer is offering just that. Are you fed up with your commute? Edward Keenan has a solution for you. Hazy with a chance of ash? Here's what wildfire season means for Toronto's air quality. Ontario patients wait on average 120 days for surgery. Here's how we could cut that time down. Heather Mallick asked AI to write a column for her, by her. Here's what happened. 'Clueless' is 30 — as if! — but what this movie did for 'girlie art' is forever. Twenty years later, 'Brokeback Mountain' remains a miracle. Here's why. Edmonton Oilers vs. Florida Panthers: Here's everything you need to know about the Stanley Cup Final. The Sceptres left Sarah Nurse exposed ahead of the PWHL expansion draft. Here's who was protected. POV Someone is listening when we make disparaging comments about women in response to the Sean Combs trial. CLOSE UP Former Toronto Blue Jays, Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jordan Romano tips his hat after he is honoured at Rogers Centre in Toronto. Steve Russell Getty Images ROGERS CENTRE: He's back! Former Toronto Blue Jay pitcher Jordan Romano was honoured at the ballpark yesterday for his return to Rogers Centre with his new team, the Philadelphia Phillies. Here's how he spent the day back in the city. Thank you for reading. You can reach me and the First Up team at firstup@ I will see you back here tomorrow. Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox.
CBC
24-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Ontario teachers demand province increase education funding
Province says new budget is spending record $30.3B on education Image | Education rally Queen's Park May 24 Caption: Educators, parents and students rallied outside Queen's Park in Toronto Saturday, demanding more education funding from the province. (Prasanjeet Choudhury/CBC) Teachers, parents and students rallied outside Queen's Park Saturday to call on the provincial government to spend more on education, saying current funding will result in programming cuts that will hurt students. In the province's new 2025-2026 budget released last week, the government set aside $30.3 billion, calling it a record investment. But Mary Fraser-Hamilton, a teacher in the Peel District School Board and organizer with the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF), says it's not nearly enough. "When you actually adjust it for inflation, it's pennies. But on top of that, we know that the needs in school are so much greater now than they used to be," she told CBC Toronto at the rally. "You have serious mental health needs, violence in schools on the rise, and none of this funding is going to begin to address that," Fraser-Hamilton said. Other teachers told CBC Toronto that underfunding is leading to larger class sizes and teachers taking on roles outside their job descriptions. In a report last year, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives found that Ontario's core education funding has dropped by $1,500 per student since 2018, a figure the government has disputed. Government scrutinizing school board spending Though the government has expressed concerns that existing funds are being misspent. Earlier this year, the province launched investigations into the finances of the Toronto District School Board (TDSB), Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) and Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB). TDSB trustees are currently considering shuttering pools and laying off instructors to help curtail its $58-million deficit. The province also appointed a supervisor to oversee the Thames Valley District School Board after an investigation found instances of mismanagement. "We expect all school boards across the province to spend every dollar of these funds directly on students, parents, and teachers," Education Minister Paul Calandra's press secretary, Emma Testani, said in an email. "While we continue to make these significant investments, we will be relentless in holding school boards accountable for how they spend these funds," she said. Provincial NDP Leader Marit Stiles, who was at Saturday's rally, said the province is using the findings at Thames Valley to justify less spending and pass the buck to school boards to cut programming. "They download the responsibility onto boards to somehow make cuts that aren't going to impact students and to wear the responsibility for that. And it really is the government's responsibility," she said. "This is a pattern with this government." That aligns with the position of the OSSTF, which said in a statement that the Ford government's new budget "does little to address more than a decade of chronic underfunding in Ontario's public education system." Over 40 per cent of Ontario school boards are facing "serious deficits," the OSSTF statement said. "The core education funding announcement may include increases on paper, but the reality is that these increases are nowhere near enough to address the budget pressures facing our schools," OSSTF president Karen Littlewood said in the statement. One student says he's already seeing the effects of provincial underfunding in the classroom. Raheem White, a high school senior in a TCDSB school in Mississauga, said Saturday that his class size in Grade 9 was about 25, but it's now pushing 35. "Two weeks ago, one of my teachers asked me for my name and I've been in the class since February," he said. "And I don't blame the teacher actually, because if you have 35 kids and you're teaching three courses, it's kind of hard to remember all their names."
CBC
08-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
School boards hit with ransom demands linked to PowerSchool cyberattack
Canada's largest school board and others across North America have received ransom demands connected to the massive PowerSchool cybersecurity breach that hit during the winter break — this after the company paid hackers a ransom to delete the stolen data. Despite assurances that the data was deleted, it turns out that's not the case, the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) said Wednesday. The board said in an email to families on Wednesday it had received a ransom demand "from a threat actor" using data from the December 2024 breach. Peel District School Board, west of Toronto, and the Calgary Board of Education, the largest in Western Canada, also alerted families about extortion attempts using the data, which was stolen after a PowerSchool administrator account used to provide technical support was compromised. School divisions right across Canada — in Alberta, Ontario, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Northwest Territories, Prince Edward Island and Saskatchewan — primarily use the California company's web-based system to manage student personal, and sometimes medical information, grades and other details. Some use it as a portal to communicate with families. Different types of data — in some cases going back decades — were accessed in the breach. Depending on the board, that might have included names, birth dates, home address and phone numbers. In other cases, even more personal info such as student identification numbers, gender, medical info and emergency contacts might have been exposed. The company said Wednesday its decision to pay the ransom had been difficult. The company did not say how much it paid. "We believed it to be in the best interest of our customers and the students and communities we serve," the company said in a statement, adding that the new ransom demands have been reported to U.S. and Canadian law enforcement. "We sincerely regret these developments — it pains us that our customers are being threatened and re-victimized." Both the Toronto and Calgary boards again encouraged families to pursue PowerSchool's offer of credit monitoring and identity protection services. 'Some serious damage' This latest development is a "worst-case scenario come true," technology analyst Carmi Levy said from London, Ont. "Whenever a ransom is paid, that's the risk you run and unfortunately in this case, they gambled and they lost." Data — including student information — has high value to cybercriminals, who can combine it with details stolen in other breaches to create a more fulsome package to be used for identity theft or financial attacks, Levy says. "Even something as innocuous as the address of the home where we grew up or the names of our teachers when we were kids can be used to gain access to other accounts that do matter in the present day, like our bank accounts," he said. "This is highly damaging data, highly personal and — in the hands of a cybercriminal — can do some serious damage." More security, better communication needed When it comes to cybersecurity, "attackers only have to be successful once and defenders have to be successful... all of the time," said Charles Finlay, executive director of the Rogers Cyber Secure Catalyst at Toronto Metropolitan University. He says there's much school boards can do to improve how they secure the data entrusted to them and to make cyberattacks "as difficult as possible and for these events to be as rare as possible." For Toronto parent Jack Ammendolia, school boards sending clear, honest and more regular updates would also be appreciated. He has a son in Grade 2 and has been following the TDSB's emails about this and other breaches for years. "At this point, I think you start to lose confidence in those assurances," he said. "It's been a few times now." The board was hit by another cyberattack in August. Ammendolia reported the PowerSchool breach to the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario as an individual, for instance, and says he's since received an update that included some of the TDSB's efforts to improve its data security. He says he feels that's information that should be shared widely with all parents, not just those who reached out to the privacy commissioner. He says no one expects schools will prevent every cyberattack, but "hopefully there can be things in place to reduce the incidence rate [and] just letting parents know" more about them.
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Photos: Major Ontario cities, GTA get a snow day as 20+ cm blankets region
A [high-impact winter storm]( swept through southern Ontario on Wednesday night, leaving many communities, including Ottawa and the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), digging out of at least 10-20+ cm of snow on Thursday morning. For several areas, this is the [biggest snowfall of the season]( to date. A Texas low swept into the province on Wednesday, pulling in warm, moist air that clashed with the cold Arctic air sitting over the Prairies and northern Ontario. Snowfall rates reached 2-4 cm/h through the overnight Wednesday, resulting in a messy situation Thursday morning. Toronto Pearson International Airport reported 27 cm of snow by 8 a.m. ET on Thursday morning—the largest two-day snowfall event to impact the GTA since 2022. Meanwhile, 25 cm was reported in Ottawa on Thursday morning, with more to come into the afternoon. Areas where the warmer air was able to beat the cold air saw freezing rain fall overnight, limiting snow totals but creating slick and dangerous roadway conditions on Thursday. The Niagara Region bore the brunt of the freezing rain Wednesday night, resulting in almost 3,000 Niagara Peninsula Energy customers to lose power. DON'T MISS: Many school boards have announced full closures on Thursday morning, including the Peel District School Board and Toronto District School Board. All PDSB schools and offices/facilities are closed to students and staff today due to winter weather conditions. All buses of the schools includes cancellations of all activities located in the schools, including childcare, night school and permits. — Peel District School Board (@PeelSchools) February 13, 2025 All TDSB schools and sites are closed today due to the weather forecast. In addition, Friday, February 14, is PA Day for all students, and Monday, February 17, is Family Day. Enjoy your first #SnowDay of the year, and we'll see you on Tuesday! — Toronto District School Board (@tdsb) February 13, 2025 Widespread flight delays and cancellations across Ontario and Quebec were also reported on Thursday, with the delays expected to last through the day. Major highways throughout the region also became incredibly slick due to the snow, resulting in many vehicles and transports getting stuck in ditches along Highway 401. Drivers were urged to stay off the roads if possible until roads and highways can be cleared. Vehicle on the shoulder stuck in the snow #Hwy401/427. plowing operations ongoing. #OnStorm. ^ks — OPP Highway Safety Division (@OPP_HSD) February 13, 2025 The plows are working to clear the roads, the snow continues to fall. Please help the snow clearing operations by staying off the roads. #OnStorm ^ks — OPP Highway Safety Division (@OPP_HSD) February 13, 2025 The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) also experienced delays as buses became stuck in the snow. Thankfully, the snow is expected to ease across the region by the afternoon, although cleanup will likely take a while yet. See below for visuals posted to social media showcasing the impacts of this event across Ontario. I am out for my morning walk. In this video, you can hear the snow hitting my jacket! #onstorm #ottawa — Sue 🇨🇦 (@Sue_HBS) February 13, 2025 I am out on my morning walk in Ottawa. This is the sidewalk in front of my house. It has been plowed but the snow is piling up again. #onstorm — Sue 🇨🇦 (@Sue_HBS) February 13, 2025 Too much snow for Icecapp #ONStorm — Sandeep Saini (@journeyvialens) February 13, 2025 SEE ALSO: And the Aftermath of snowstorm. I couldn't see Lake Ontario, CN Tower, or absolute towers, which are generally visible from my balcony. #ONStorm #Toronto #snowstorm — Sachin Mandot (@SachinMandot) February 13, 2025 #ONStorm #WeatherUpdate #snow #Toronto — Sheriff Rao (@raosheriff) February 13, 2025 #ONStorm @IWeatherON @weathernetwork — jchawla (@jchawla55) February 13, 2025 Today is the first #snowdaytoronto #ONStorm last night and this morning — Unplugged Gameboy (bluesky as well!) (@RetroRelapstic) February 13, 2025 RELATED: Looks about 16 cm in Guelph. Monster for scale. @weathernetwork #ONStorm — Mark Robinson (@StormhunterTWN) February 13, 2025 Made it to the office! However, I did see a lot of cars in ditches and a lot of big trucks going way too fast for the conditions. @weathernetwork #ONStorm — Mark Robinson (@StormhunterTWN) February 13, 2025 My commute took me 45 mins on the 407, which is only an extra 20 mins. Thank you to the plows working hard to clear the roads 🤗❄️ #onstorm #ONwx — Melinda Singh TWN (@WxMelinda21) February 13, 2025
