User:EliciaBeyer/Education in Ontario

Racially Segregated Schools
An amendment to the 1850 Common School Act allowed for the creation of racially segregated schools. This was because the Common School Act included the Separate School Clause that allowed for the separation between different religions and races. At first, this sounded like a practical idea where each school could focus on teaching their faith or culture. However, it was taken advantage of and quickly became problematic as school trustees supported racial segregation towards coloured students. Racial segregation looked different depending on where it took place in Canada. Many of these schools were located in southwestern Ontario where Black individuals and families settled looking for freedom. Some schools in Ontario had separate school buildings, while others attended the same school but at different times. Those schools that were for Black students were characterized by markedly poorer conditions and little concern was shown for their education. Scholars identify this as a suppressed history because it contradicts narratives of Ontario and Canada as places of justice and equality. However, this history includes a legacy of slavery in Canada that lasted for over 200 years as well as acts of terror perpetuated by white Ontarians such as burning the barns of Black families to the ground. The last racially segregated school in Ontario did not close until 1956 and in Nova Scotia until 1983, meaning that racially segregated schools existed for over one hundred years. Although Ontario and Nova Scotia were the two provinces to enact laws regarding racial segregation, many other provinces had racial segregation practices.

Many asian cultures also experienced segregation in Canada in regard to education. The first wave of Chinese immigrants pursued work in British Columbia and many decided to settle permanently there with their families. In 1922, it was voted to implement full segregation of Chinese students by forcing them to attend one of the only two Chinese schools in Victoria. Chinese segregation is another example of white supremacy in Canada, as British Columbia was seen as a predominantly white province and anyone who was not white, including the Chinese, were marginalized and alienated. This connects to the idea that the residents of British Columbia viewed Chinese individuals as a threat due to an assumed disease which was used to support Chinese segregation in the schooling system. From the view of Chinese students, it was a way of preventing them from learning the English language, which was a main focus in Canadian education at the time. In British Columbia, the segregation of Japanese students began occurring following the war. In 1942, the government denied any and all responsibility for Japanese education, essentially denying Japanese children the right to education. The British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) did not want to be involved with education, however, they argued that as Canadian citizens, Japanese students should have a proper education.