Politicians raise concerns about dress code blitz at Ottawa school
An Ottawa Liberal candidate is vowing to fight to end dress codes in schools, after students and parents raised concerns with a dress code "blitz" by staff at a French Catholic high school in Orléans this week.
The principal and senior staff at Beatrice-Desloges Catholic High School went class to class on Thursday to remind students about the dress code in effect at the school, accoding to the French Catholic school board. The blitz provoked immediate outrage among parents and students, who say the actions went too far and seemed to be aimed only at female students.
Ottawa Vanier Liberal candidate Lucille Collard said on Twitter, "dress codes are so outdated and discriminatory. I'll fight to get this practice to stop."
Orleans Liberal candidate Stephen Blais said the school board trustee for the area has committed to a full investigation.
"Very concerned about the dress code incident at Béatrice-Desloges. Women should never be judged for what they wear," Blais said on Twitter.
Cumberland councillor Catherine Kitts called the dress code blitz, along with the police response to a protest at the school on Friday, concerning.
"School action against young women who were aggressively targeted for dress code violations also appears wildly inappropriate," Kitts said.
The Conseil des écoles catholiques du Centre-Est superintendent of education Jason Dupuis admits the enforcement action by school staff could have been handled differently."
The CECCE will review the dress code currently in place at Beatrice-Desloges High School and possibly make changes for the rest of the school year, according to the board.
"Looking at what we can change to be more in line of fashion of 2022," Dupuis said.
Ottawa police say a youth who was not a student at the school and identified as trespassing was arrested at the scene. Police said the youth was escorted off the school property and released with no charges.
Coun. Jeff Leiper, who is a member of the Ottawa Police Services Board, said he had contacted police about the presence at the school.
"I have spoken with police to express my disagreement with physically taking control of the youth even if trespassing," Leiper said on Twitter.
"I don't immediately see the need to have escalated the situation. To those students who walked out: good on you. Keep calling out misogyny."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
BREAKING McGill University seeks emergency injunction to remove pro-Palestinian encampment from campus
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
U.S. says Israel's use of U.S. arms likely violated international law, but evidence is incomplete
The Biden administration said Friday that Israel's use of U.S.-provided weapons in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law but wartime conditions prevented U.S. officials from determining that for certain in specific airstrikes.
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.
Mother assaulted by stranger while breastfeeding baby in her car: Vancouver police
A person was arrested in East Vancouver Thursday after allegedly entering a car while a mother was breastfeeding her four-month-old boy.
Rare severe solar storm Friday could bring spectacular aurora light show across Canada
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
More than half the Canadians once detained in Syrian camps for suspected ISIS family members have returned home
A total of 29 Canadians have been freed from detention camps in northeast Syria and brought back to Canada since human rights advocates began lobbying for their release years ago.
Canada abstains from Palestinian UN membership vote but supports two-state solution
Canada was one of 25 countries that abstained from a United Nations vote on Palestinian membership that passed with overwhelming support on Friday.