Statement From the Archdiocese of Toronto Regarding the Toronto Catholic District School Board

In light of inquiries to the Archdiocese of Toronto relating to the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB), some additional information may be helpful:

• We must do all that we can to foster a safe environment for all students, but, more than that, the faith that is the foundation of Catholic Education requires that every individual be treated with respect, dignity, compassion and love as a child of God. Everyone, and especially anyone who is suffering, is included in the love of Christ that we are called to make present in the world.
  
  
• The Archdiocese of Toronto was invited by the Toronto Catholic District School Board to provide guidance and resources on church teachings.
  
  
• Ministry of Education policy, PPM 128, directs that the prohibited grounds of discrimination found in the Ontario Human Rights Code be included in updated Codes of Conduct for all school boards in Ontario. While the archdiocese recognizes that terms such as gender identity are included in the Code, we do not accept the view of the human person which underlies this terminology, since that view is not compatible with our faith.
  
  
• We note that the revised TCDSB Code of Conduct includes additional provisions to ensure that it is interpreted according to Catholic faith, “as articulated by the teaching of the Church…expressed through various documents of the Universal Church, the Bishops of Canada, the Bishops of Ontario and the Archdiocese of Toronto.” In doing so, it is exercising a right that is referenced in the Ontario Human Rights Code itself.