TCDSB INVESTIGATION SERIES Part 3
Faith, Identity, and the Two Realities
How Catholic Ethos Survives Even as Its Governance Is Taken Away
1. Two Realities. One Board. Two Completely Different Worlds.
Walk into any Toronto Catholic school today and you would think everything is normal.
Classrooms gather for All Saints and All Souls.
St. Barnabas runs its Dance-a-Thon.
St. Basil’s Nature Club clears the courtyard.
Brebeuf hosts its ISP Halloween Social.
Students stand in silence on Remembrance Day.
Virtue of the Month lessons continue.
Chaminade uploads its morning video.
A living Catholic culture. Vibrant. Familiar. Rooted.
If you only saw this, you would never know the board is under supervision.
But step outside that classroom life and into the governance structure, and the reality changes instantly.
Trustees cannot move motions without interference.
Communications are routed through the Supervisor.
Cultural decisions can be overridden.
Identity-linked policies can be rewritten.
Parents have fewer avenues to advocate.
Authority sits in Queen’s Park, not the community.
Inside the schools, Catholic identity thrives.
Outside them, the governance that protects that identity is collapsing.
This is the two-reality problem at the heart of the TCDSB.
2. Catholic Life Is Strong. That Is Why People Choose This System.
Despite the mounting pressures, Catholic schools are still delivering what families expect.
Look at the board calendar over the past month:
• Internment Commemoration Day
• All Saints and All Souls
• Franco-Ontarian Heritage
• Remembrance Day
• Student athletics partnerships
• Parish collaborations
• Dance-a-Thons and charity events
• Cultural assemblies
• Chaplaincy initiatives
• Advent and Christmas preparations already underway
These events have one thing in common.
They are driven by principals, teachers, staff, students, and parish communities.
They are the heartbeat of the system.
They keep Catholic education Catholic.
They also keep the public unaware that the governance structure behind these events is under strain.
3. Supervision Has Quietly Shifted Control of Identity
Once the Supervisor was appointed, every major decision involving culture, identity, or community voice moved one layer up.
Trustees confirm it clearly:
• They cannot speak freely.
• They cannot guarantee families the consultation they once could.
• They cannot pass budgets.
• They cannot move motions without deferral.
• They cannot act on community concerns without approval.
Under supervision, Catholic governance has been hollowed out.
And this is not speculation. We already have a real example from another Catholic board.
This fall, the Dufferin-Peel Catholic board was instructed by the province to change its flag policy for Truth and Reconciliation Day.
The province overruled a Catholic board’s decision on identity and symbolism.
Not after consultation.
Not after debate.
Simply overridden.
If it can happen there, it can happen here.
TCDSB knows this.
Everyone inside the system knows this.
**4. The Province Says Denominational Rights Will Not Be Touched.
Reality Says Otherwise.**
The government promises that Catholic education will remain intact.
They claim supervision is about finances and efficiency.
But the facts tell a different story.
When the province controls:
• how parents communicate
• what motions proceed
• which cultural practices are permitted
• which symbols are acceptable
• which decisions must be rewritten
• how trustees speak
• which voices matter
they are not just managing finances.
They are reshaping Catholic governance from the outside.
Denominational rights are not only about doctrine.
They are about authority.
If authority shifts, the identity shifts with it.
This is structural erosion, not open conflict.
Quiet. Procedural. Effective.
5. Why This Matters More for Catholic Boards Than Public Ones
When a public board loses oversight, it loses democracy.
When a Catholic board loses oversight, it loses identity.
Catholic education is built on:
• parish-school relationships
• faith-based curriculum
• pastoral reference letters
• sacramental preparation
• Catholic social teaching
• cultural traditions
• community advocacy
• denominational governance
If governance is centralized in Queen’s Park instead of the Catholic community, the meaning of “Catholic education” changes.
Not immediately.
Not overnight.
But inevitably.
The culture you see in schools today is strong because teachers and principals are holding it up.
The structure needed to protect that culture long term is being removed.
Governance shapes culture.
Every time.
6. These Two Realities Cannot Coexist Forever
Right now, the Catholic community is carrying the identity.
Schools feel Catholic because the people inside them believe in the mission.
But governance determines the long-term future.
And the governance is being rewritten.
If supervision continues, Catholic identity will slowly adjust to the expectations of the Ministry.
Symbol by symbol.
Policy by policy.
Decision by decision.
If trustees regain authority, Catholic identity stays rooted in community and tradition.
Two realities.
Only one can define the future.
Closing Line
Catholic schools still feel Catholic today.
The question for tomorrow is simple.
Who decides what Catholic means?
Part 4 looks at the people caught in the middle.
The trustees. Who they are. What they do. And what they have lost.
Read Part 4.
