Transparency and accountability forgotten at TCDSB

TORONTO – The travesty surrounding the of the “disposition” of the allegations of the alleged code of conduct breaches levelled against trustee Daniel Di Giorgio made several things clear. The report levelled against him was trumped up nonsense manufactured to bring his name into disrepute, just in time for the elections.

What we did learn is that the Integrity Commissioner (IC) does not work for the Board of trustees. Rather, he/she submits a report to the Board, but it must first clear the desk of the Secretary/Director of the Board, Brendan Browne. As it turned out, he and his staff can and do change the report to suit their perceived obligations or objectives. That is a dangerous arrogation of authority. Now he is faced with a demand by a member of the public and registered candidate who is determined to have access to similar procedure before the August 19.

The IC has no authority to do anything other than to determine whether an investigation has merit; compile and report findings and remind Trustees of their options should they agree to accept his/her recommendations. According to Secretary/Director Browne, once the IC submits the report, it belongs to the Board, meaning the Director who then can redact, alter, or otherwise change the content at his discretion.

We know this because he says so. As Marc Anthony’s Shakespeare said of Brutus: and he is an honourable man. We know this to be true because Secretary/Director Browne hired a platoon of lawyers to provide legal advice on the appropriateness of what he was trying to accomplish over the objections of reasonable trustees on the Board.

The report was not going anywhere, despite the sloppy intimidation tactics by attempted against Di Giorgio.

The former IC, who took their “expertise” to the City of Brampton sometime in April, resigned in May, but hung on until Mid-June to “lend weight” to their own personal views about Di Giorgio, the Corriere and its publisher – and to collect more “billable hours”.

Secretary/Director Browne must relish the vainglorious exercise to squander public money on legal entities who will opine on the merits of his musings on policy and procedure while he manipulates certain trustees to do his bidding, especially the nefarious gang of four who will allege anything, slur and smear anyone to avoid fulfilling their duty to Catholic electors. Anything to keep people off balance, so to speak. It worked, in part, against trustee Del Grande. It is unlikely to work against people like the trustee candidate Gabriella Mazarakis. Meanwhile, according to an insider who has seen the invoices, last year, Brendan Browne authorized a pay out in excess of $1,000,000.00 to outside legal counsel just as the TCDSB is facing student shortages, reduced revenues and teacher agitation. Children have to do without.

In house legal advisors, on the other hand, are supplemented by other legal opinion generators from law firms like BLG, Aird Berlis, ADR, Principles Integrity (it is a real name), and the Parliamentarian.

None of them were elected to discharge the obligations that trustees have to the parents who put them around the Board table.

None of their opinions on procedure can restore the ethical behaviour, lost, but still legally demanded and expected of trustees elected to uphold the Catholic ethic.

Poteri dei sindaci, la riforma sarà allargata anche ad altri Comuni

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TORONTO – Il rafforzamento dei poteri e delle prerogative dei sindaci non riguarderà solo Toronto e Ottawa: presto verrà estesa ad altri Comuni dell’Ontario. La conferma della nuova svolta è arrivata ieri direttamente da Doug Ford, durante il suo intervento alla conferenza annuale dell’Association of Municipalities of Ontario…

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Cupe risponde picche: “Aumento umiliante”

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TORONTO – Sul fronte scuola l’autunno – gli indizi ci sono tutti – sarà caldo. Ieri, come anticipato dal ministro dell’Istruzione Lecce – il governo ha presentato la sua offerta al Cupe – Ontario School Boards Council of Unions (Osbcu) con il quale sono in corso dalla fine di luglio negoziati per il rinnovo del contratto. Per gli operatori dell’istruzione rappresentati dalla Canadian Union of Public Employees che guadagnano meno di $ 40.000 l’aumento sarebbe del 2% all’anno. Ai lavoratori che guadagnano oltre tale importo, il governo propone un contratto quadriennale che prevede aumenti dell’1,25% su base annuale…

Read More in Corriere Canadese >>>

Governo-scuola, negoziati in alto mare

TORONTO – Mentre la riapertura delle scuole si avvicina a passi da gigante i negoziati tra sindacati e governo non sembrano andare proprio per il verso giusto. Nonostante siano iniziati con largo anticipo – alla fine di luglio – un accordo sembra essere ancora in alto mare al punto che il Canadian Union of Public Employees (Cupe) ha deciso di parlare di un eventuale sciopero alla sua prossima riunione. Una mossa, questa, che il ministro dell’Istruzione Stephen Lecce definisce una “inutile escalation”…Read More in Corriere Canadese >>> 

TCDSB rejects IC report: fallout, part one

TORONTO – Catholic Schools exist because the Constitution, the Charter of Rights and the Education Act recognize and protect their existence; so does the Human Rights Code. Catholic ratepayers are expected to contribute, and do so contribute, to their financial stability.

The former Integrity Commissioner of the TCDSB seems to have had trouble understanding those fundamental concepts when he/they made themselves an instrument of others’ questionable attacks on trustees who comprehend and discharge their role. It started with the concocted attack on Del Grande in November 2019 and ended with the failed attempted defamation of Di Giorgio on August 10, 2022.

So, what is the role of Catholic trustees?

A certain Gabriella Mazarakis researched The Trustee Code of Conduct outlined in A.04 on the Board’s website. It says, in part… “Trustees are expected to discharge their duties and responsibilities in a professional and ethical manner consistent with Gospel Values and the teachings of the Catholic Church… That standard includes upholding the Catholic Faith and adhering to the Oath of Office taken each year at the Caucus meeting.”

…Unless you are a member of the infamous gang of four trustees at the TCDSB. Then the rules may not apply to you – you are woke, a cancel culture zealot – you make them up as you go along… until you are called out for misuse, if not abuse, of your position.

That’s what has happened to Markus De Domenico, charter member of the self-proclaimed authority of how to be an ethical Catholic trustee. Bang, just like that, Gabriella Mazarakis, has effectively asked the TCDSB and the Interim Integrity Commissioner to disqualify De Domenico from holding office for breaches of those “rules”.

Mazarakis, a mother of school-aged children, is registered as a candidate to oust the incumbent. Encouraged by the special Board meeting on August 10, called to “punish” trustee Di Giorgio for disagreeing with De Domenico and his ilk, she submitted a request to the new Integrity Commissioner (law firm Aird Berlis) that it investigate and report a finding of fault in the allegations of egregious violations (emphasis added) of the Trustee Code of Conduct and perhaps Conflict of Interest guidelines committed by De Domenico. What’s good for the goose is good for…

For good measure, she supplied relevant sections of the Code of Conduct and the Conflict-of-interest guidelines, together with pictures revealing Markus in flagrante delicto to support the allegations. It is a copious document. She has done the research for the Integrity Commissioner.

Mazarakis pointed out violation after violation, including a ten-page newsletter, an election brochure churned out at Board expense and distributed via Board resources. She made specific reference to the Political Activity and Campaigning Policy A.40 of the Board.

It may be worth noting for Municipal election officials that De Domenico also started a finance campaign prior to registering his candidacy, as required by the Municipal Elections Act.

Mazarakis, however, raised the question of electoral integrity and fairness with the City of Toronto Municipal Elections department who manage Trustee Elections. Mazarakis’ letter points out that “they have the same black out period for complaints and similar policies regarding use of City resources on election campaign sites as TCDSB”.

She highlights that, however, “in the case of alleged violations of election policies such as those [she has] described herein, [the complaints] are dealt with immediately to ensure election integrity and fairness.” She demands that the TCDSB do the same.

Otherwise, willful breaches of the Act may compromise the election and result in unfair advantage to the perpetrator, De Domenico.

Not content with the IC’s apparent docility to take on the task, she sent her concerns to the Director and all the trustees. Again, receiving no reply, she sent a letter demanding action to the Board, copying the Corriere Canadese and the Toronto Star.

We think she deserves a hearing.