In an unprecedented move, Toronto’s archbishop will allow Catholic trustee candidates to campaign on church property for the upcoming election. In a letter to be shared with Toronto-area parishes this Sunday, Archbishop Thomas Collins said “because of the extraordinary importance for our Catholic community of the election of highly qualified Catholic school board trustees, I have chosen to make an exception” and allow candidates to “present information to parishioners outside of our churches” until Sunday, Oct. 17.
While Collins does not explicitly refer to the Toronto Catholic board — the diocese covers six local school boards — the letter does say that Catholic trustees “should be exemplary in personal integrity and conduct, always striving to foster the good of the children, and not personal interest. We need to elect trustees who will represent us with honour and dignity . . .”
Toronto’s Catholic board has been mired in controversy for the past two years after trustees’ outrageous spending was revealed and a provincial report blasted the “culture of entitlement” that saw them hire relatives and browbeat staff to approve their expenses.
Trustees even voted themselves car allowances and health benefits despite being told by staff and lawyers such perks weren’t allowed. Even among themselves, they bickered and behaved badly at a number of public meetings and also in private.
More recently, two trustees — Oliver Carroll and Angela Kennedy — were ousted by an Ontario court for taking part in discussions and voting on budget matters that could have affected their children, who were employed by the board. A third case against Trustee Barbara Poplawski is expected before the courts again next week.
Kennedy, who was removed from office just a few weeks ago, registered to run for re-election hours before nominations closed Friday despite having said she would not. The court judgment against her did not ban her from running again. Poplawski is also up for re-election.
In total, 59 candidates are vying for the Toronto Catholic board’s 12 wards, eight of them incumbents.
Neil MacCarthy, director of public relations for the Archdiocese of Toronto, said the move to allow campaigning will be “respectful of the law” and is open to all trustee candidates in Toronto-area parishes.
“Our hope is that it’s going to help educate the Catholic community about those who put their names forward and engage them in the process,” he said, adding the archdiocese covers six boards in the Toronto area.
But none of those boards have given the archdiocese a bigger headache than Toronto.
Two years ago, after the scathing report on expenses and spending, Collins issued a letter saying trustees’ actions “fall far short of the standard expected of any board exercising a public trust . . . the board’s actions over the past few years reflects poorly on Catholic education and on our whole Catholic community.”
Many Catholic parents have said they are looking for a change at the board, which was taken over by the province when trustees failed to balance their budget, and to this day remains under the control of a provincial supervisor.
There has been a move afoot by both parent groups and the archdiocese to increase interest in trustee elections as well as drum up candidates.
Trustee Rob Davis, now running for city council, ran a “help wanted” ad on Craigslist as well as a “trustee boot camp.” The archdiocese also ran a series of workshops for those considering running.
MacCarthy said that because of the low voter turnout, the archdiocese is attempting to “spark some action in our people and encourage them to be informed,” adding Collins is passionate about education. “It’s one of his main priorities.”
Trustee candidates only can distribute information after the six weekend masses starting Saturday through to Oct. 17.
“Many candidates in the past have been on the sidewalks outside the churches but, this year, by allowing the distribution directly outside churches, the Archbishop is really trying to invite the Catholic community to learn more about the candidates, educate themselves and encourage them to vote,” said MacCarthy.
“As you know, historically the turnout for municipal elections has been very poor so we are doing all that we can to engage the Catholic community.”
SIC: PC/CAN