Update #1 - 1st Meeting with the Toronto District School Board

On April 20, 2026, your advocacy team met with senior staff in the Toronto District School Board.

We questioned them on the cancellation of the Latinx Task Force and the planning committee for Latin-America History Month, requested that they share research they have on our community, questioned the lack of educational partners in the Latin American diaspora, questioned the cuts to education from the province, explained how international issues impact our community here in Ontario, and questioned why schools in low-income areas are losing more teachers than other schools.

They said they would get back to us to share research.

They did not.

They said:

-When the province took over the TDSB, all advisory committees for communities were cancelled, including the Latinx Task Force. All Heritage/History Month planning committees were cancelled, including Latin-America History Month.

-The province will not allow the TDSB to share research with community without explicit permission from the supervisor. This research was already public, so they said they would get back to us on getting permission to share it. They did not get back to us so we are filing a legal Freedom of Information Request for this publicly available research.

-The TDSB did not have more information on the cuts to education nor school staffing but said they are more focused on enrollment numbers for funding rather than school or community needs (communities with lower income levels lost more teachers and education workers than those with higher income levels)

-Ontario curriculum allows students and teachers to have conversations about international issues in the classroom in a grade-appropriate way

Next Steps

We will be requesting a follow-up meeting with the TDSB in the fall and a separate meeting with the Toronto Catholic District School Board senior staff.

We will also be requesting both school boards use their fundraising policies to help raise money for the devastating earthquakes in Colombia and Venezuela.