Principal in Toronto’s loss of life by suicide will be reviewed

TORONTO – An anti-racism trainer accused of denigrating a Toronto principal who later died by suicide welcomed a critique introduced by Ontario’s education minister, saying the allegations towards her are wrong and mischaracterize what took place during two instruction classes.

Kike Ojo-Thompson, the founder and CEO of a variety consultancy team — whose detailed consumers consist of main firms, authorities ministries and nationwide media businesses — stated she would co-run thoroughly with an investigation introduced by Minister Stephen Lecce into 2021 periods she facilitated for the Toronto District Faculty Board.

“We feel the Ministry of Training is very best positioned to investigate this issue to get to the base of what transpired at the Toronto District College Board right after our workshop concluded in excess of two many years back,” Ojo-Thompson wrote in a weblog article on the KOJO Institute web page Thursday.

Richard Bilkszto submitted a lawsuit against the board in April, proclaiming the session and its aftermath wrecked his track record. Bilkszto, who ongoing to decide on up TDSB contracts immediately after his 2019 retirement, statements supervisors did not intervene and later retaliated towards him when Ojo-Thompson allegedly implied he was racist and humiliated him in entrance of colleagues immediately after he disagreed that Canada was a lot more racist than the U.S.

None of the allegations have been verified in courtroom and TDSB has not responded straight to the allegations. The board released a statement Thursday stating it employed an outside the house group to guide an investigation into the circumstances all-around Bilkszto’s dying.

Bilkszto’s attorney confirmed last week he died by suicide on July 13. He was 60.

His situation has because garnered global interest and been seized on by a range of distinguished ideal-wing commentators who have sought to roll back variety, equity and inclusion initiatives at Canada’s most significant university board.

Gurus have cautioned in opposition to linking suicide to any one circumstance or function.

Ojo-Thompson named Bilkszto’s death a tragedy and extended condolences to his family. She mentioned she only discovered about the lawsuit in June, when she was attained for remark by media outlets.

The incident, she claimed, had been weaponized to discredit and suppress range, equity and inclusion work.

“While the coverage by suitable-wing media of this controversy is disappointing and led to our business and group associates receiving threats and vitriol on the net, we will not be deterred from our operate in building a superior society for all people.”

The lawsuit suggests Bilkszto pushed back again when Ojo-Thompson — citing Canada’s failure to reckon with its anti-Black background, its continued celebration of the monarchy, and her have practical experience dwelling in the United States — said Black people’s knowledge of racism in the state was even worse than in the U.S. Bilkszto, who outlined his time as a college student instructor in Buffalo, disagreed and designed reference to Canada’s obtain to wellbeing-care and community instruction, in accordance to the lawsuit.

He reported it would be “an remarkable disservice to our learners,” to say Canada was just as terrible as the U.S., according to the lawsuit. Ojo-Thompson responded, “we are below to chat about anti-Black racism, but you in your whiteness think that you can explain to me what’s seriously going on for Black men and women?”

The lawsuit suggests Bilkszto taken care of Canada was a more just modern society, though acknowledging its anti-Black racism. A further KOJO Institute expert then allegedly stepped in and mentioned the session was not a position to be an apologist for either nation.

The lawsuit claims Ojo-Thompson brought up the trade in a followup session a week afterwards as an instance of the ways white supremacy is upheld by way of resistance.

Bilkszto complained to supervisors the exchanges at the schooling periods amounted to place of work harassment, in accordance to the lawsuit. He started off a unwell leave soon after the teaching sessions and was diagnosed with anxiousness secondary to a office occasion. A Workplace Safety and Insurance plan Board circumstance manager approved his claim of function-connected pressure and granted decline-of-employment benefits covering about 7 months, locating he was in shape to return to work in July 2021, in accordance to a duplicate of the WSIB selection supplied by his law firm.

Ojo-Thompson claims she was in no way contacted by the WSIB, regardless of the case manager concluding her conduct amounted to workplace harassment and bullying.

“Neither Toronto District Faculty Board associates, nor WSIB adjudicators at any time contacted any users of the KOJO crew about the wrong promises being designed about our do the job. It is puzzling that a government agency with adjudicating authority would not consult all named get-togethers to a dispute,” she stated in the assertion.

After Bilkszto was cleared for operate, the lawsuit alleges TDSB “failed or if not refused” to reinstate him as principal of an grownup learning centre, where he had taught on deal since September 2020, and revoked a separate deal that experienced been set to get started in March.

Achieved for remark on Friday, his law firm Lisa Bildy claimed she was “not inclined to litigate this scenario in the media.”

“We have the comprehensive recordings of the classes, which I hope will be released in because of program — definitely in the course of the court proceedings, if the relatives decides to keep on with them,” she wrote in an electronic mail.

The incident marked a turning stage for Bilkszto, in accordance to a assertion from his family members shared by Bildy final week.

Following his practical experience with the board’s “equity agenda,” the assertion claims Bilkszto commenced advocating for a much more “equality-focused” approach.

It famous his opposition to TDSB’s the latest transfer to deliver in a lottery system, somewhat than prerequisites such as take a look at scores or auditions, to acknowledge college students to specialized plans and universities in places this sort of as the arts or athletics. The board states it undertook the modify in element to lessen boundaries to publicly funded programs and to be certain they mirrored the range of the town.

Bilkszto also helped discovered the Toronto chapter of a U.S.-based group that charges itself as a non-partisan civil rights business that supports a “colour-blindness” technique to race, or what it makes an attempt to recast as “colour-transcendence.” Bildy, a previous staff members law firm with the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms who has been outspoken towards DEI teaching, is a member of its advisory board.

The group, Foundation In opposition to Intolerance and Racism, has challenged U.S. universities pursuing affirmative motion or race-mindful guidelines, these types of as instruction plans directed at BIPOC lecturers.

This report by The Canadian Push was initially released July 28, 2023.