WRDSB apologizes for harms caused by School Resource Officer program
The Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB) is apologizing for the harms caused by the School Resource Officer (RSO) program.
Last month, the board voted to axe the RSO program, which had been put on pause for a year while it was reviewed by a special committee.
On Tuesday, the WRDSB issued a formal apology to students and families harmed by the program.
"Members of the committee heard that both the presence of police and how and when they are used in schools can create a sense of fear, increased anxiety and vulnerability for some, and especially Black, Indigenous, and racialized students. The fact that any student felt this way is not acceptable," reads a statement issued by the WRDSB. "We apologize, unreservedly, to the students and communities who have been harmed."
The school board says it will continue to work with Waterloo regional police to create policies and procedures that clarify and limit the role of police in schools.
Officials say the board remains focused on addressing systemic barriers and building an equitable community culture for students and staff.
"We just felt that an apology allowed us to start from a place of healing and to repair some of the relationships with some of the students and their families that were harmed by this program," WRDSB chairperson Joanne Weston said Tuesday. "It's just a first step."
She said an apology was part of the review committee's recommendations.
Other programs are also under review, including the board's suspension and expulsion program. Weston said restorative justice practices are being explored.
"We are looking at everything through an anti-oppressive and equitable lens," she said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
Premiers not being truthful about carbon tax, Trudeau says while sparks fly in Ottawa
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Conservative premiers across the country are 'not telling the truth' when it comes to the carbon tax. Trudeau's comments came as fresh sparks were flying in Ottawa at a recalled House of Commons committee.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
'Ninja,' Twitch's biggest streamer, is diagnosed with skin cancer
American gamer and Twitch superstar, Tyler 'Ninja' Blevins, revealed he was diagnosed with melanoma, a form of skin cancer.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Here's what Trudeau says the upcoming federal budget will offer renters
The federal government will create a new 'Canadian Renters' Bill of Rights,' which would require landlords to disclose their properties' rental price history to prospective tenants.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.