An Anglophone candidate for the post of Francophone school trustee in Toronto is not giving up after the election in which she was participating was canceled on Wednesday evening, temporarily ending a controversy that lasted several days. Amina Bibi Bhaiyat wants to run again in the by-election that will take place after October 24.
For more than a week, parents from the Viamonde school board have been questioning the lack of information about two English-speaking candidates for the position of school trustee in their downtown Toronto electoral district. The board, which is made up of 14 members at Viamonde, makes strategic decisions for the organization and is, among other things, responsible for policies within the establishments. The board determines the “what” while principals do the “how”.
On Wednesday, the City finally informed the public that the councilor election in the constituency on October 24 will be resumed at a later date. The decision was taken because one of the candidates did not hold French-related rights, that is to say that his mother tongue and still understood was not French, that he did not studied in primary school in French, or that his child did not study in French. A candidate cannot be elected by acclamation since his opponent is disqualified.
Joseph Frascà, the opponent of Amina Bibi Bhaiyat, confirmed to Le Devoir that he was the disqualified person, information first reported by the Toronto Star. The Torontonian says he would have been a good school counsellor, even though he is not bilingual. On Wednesday morning, Cameron MacLeod, another Viamonde parent, emailed the city manager to let him know that Joseph Frascà was not eligible. “A person’s mistake has an impact on me,” said Amina Bibi Bhaiyat, for her part.
A date has not been set for the by-election that will determine the identity of the next school trustee. But Amina Bibi Bhaiyat, who is criticized for making controversial remarks about Indigenous peoples and the LGBTQ community in an interview with The Local site, still plans to participate. “I have to accept the authorities’ decision, but I’m not very happy with their decision,” she said. The latter still maintains that her rights as a Muslim woman have been violated.
Another candidate puts his campaign on hold
On Thursday, another Toronto candidate for the position of councilor in a French-language school board put his campaign on hold. Salah Rawdat, who wished to represent the parents of the Catholic School Board MonAvenir, in Toronto, made it known by means of an automated email. On the phone in the hours before the announcement of the break, the candidate, who is an acquaintance of Joseph Frascà, shared that he was in discussions with Elections Toronto to determine if he was eligible.
On October 19, Salah Rawdat posted a video in which he answered questions sent by parents from the Georges-Étienne-Cartier Catholic elementary school in Toronto. “I am legally eligible to be elected as a school counselor for MonAvenir. There were no requirements for French law when I applied. My wife and I can communicate in French and we are raising our son to learn French,” he explained in this one.
In an email sent to the City of Toronto this week, parents from MonAvenir also questioned the qualifications of some candidates, including Salah Rawdat. In a response obtained by Le Devoir, an employee of the city manager’s office, on the other hand, informed the parents that “no action would be taken” and that the election in constituency 4 of MonAvenir, where Salah Rawdat is running, would take place. as planned next Monday.
Work in French
A counselor who does not speak French can technically be a candidate since one does not necessarily have to be bilingual to hold French-related rights. A person could for example be a “rights holder” if he received his elementary education in French, but no longer speaks it. Linguist lawyer Mark Power notes, however, that the Supreme Court has “clearly stated” that French-language school boards must operate internally in French, which includes board operations.
Geneviève Oger, the outgoing president of the Conseil scolaire Viamonde, says she lacked sleep due to the controversy of the past few days. It is “unimaginable” to have a school counselor who is not French-speaking, she said. “There are hundreds of pages to read every night,” she notes. The council member who was re-elected by acclamation hopes that new francophone candidates will come forward during the by-election.
This story is supported by the Local Journalism Initiative, funded by the Government of Canada.