Toronto school plays O Canada in Arabic on Oct. 7 anniversary
A Toronto high school broadcast O Canada in Arabic on the morning of the second anniversary of the Hamas Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel that left more than 1,200 people dead.
A Toronto high school broadcast O Canada in Arabic on the morning of the second anniversary of the Hamas Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel that left more than 1,200 people dead.
Earl Haig Secondary School, one of the Toronto District School Board’s largest high schools, played the Arabic version of the anthem over the PA system for all students and staff to hear.
A source at the school confirmed the incident in an interview with True North, describing it as “a surprise to most of us.”
“They have a CD that includes O Canada in English, French, Métis, Farsi, and Arabic,” the source said. “Today, they decided to play the Arabic one.”
After the anthem, the principal made a short address to students.
“He said it was a tough day for our community and encouraged students to reach out to friends if they needed support,” the source explained. “He didn’t mention October 7 specifically.”
According to the source, the decision about which version of the anthem to play is made by two students under the supervision of a teacher adviser.
“There’s supposed to be oversight, but there wasn’t any thought this morning,” they said.
Roughly 100 of Earl Haig’s 2,000 students are Jewish. While most of the minority student body is East Asian or Iranian, “incidents of antisemitic behaviour” have occasionally been reported since the start of the Israel–Hamas war.
“This was a big aggression. Most of the others [were] minor,” they said.
The source added that the event “sparked confusion and silence” in the school.
“No one really discussed it until it blew up online,” they said, noting that the school’s phones “rang nonstop” with complaints after the anthem was played.
A Toronto MP, Kevin Vuong, publicly condemned the act, calling it “insensitive” and demanding that whoever made the decision “be fired.”
Under Ontario’s Education Act, schools are required to play the national anthem in one or both of Canada’s official languages, English or French. The source told True North they believed the use of another language could be a “technical violation” of that rule.
“If they play it in Arabic or any other language, that might actually go against the Act,” they said.
True North has reached out to the school for further information. This is a developing story.
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Globaly speaking, our world is not in a very good place right now. Nationally speaking, we are busy fighting to keep our jobs and remind our children that there is a life after Trump. Provincialy , there are several areas in our cities that are simply not safe. Car jackings, houses being shot at,and lack of mental health care facilities are just a few of the countless, continuous issues at hand.
The good news is that the teachers ,administrators and parents in our schools have fought hard to endeavor that our students have a safe zone: It is in these schools where children from all backgrounds have mutual respect for one another, where breakfast is available ,where teachers and students alike can learn together and in addition take part in many of the extra curricular activities available.
Just the other day, I had a discussion with my students evolving around the importance of keeping positive and to focus on the things they can change.Many
of these students have emigrated from other countries and are in the midst of just trying to figure out how to " live in Canada "
The choice to play Canada's National Anthem in Arabic in a public school on October 7 was beyond insensitive. It goes against everything that we continually convey to our students on a daily basis. Although it cannot be undone, the TDSB has a mandatory duty to discover how this could have happened. I have taught at Earl Haig. This school is known for it's exemplary academic and extra curricular programs.This is an aberration of collosal proportions. Imagine what our schools would be like if politically sensitive statements etc. were broadcasted over the P.A. systems on a daily basis.THOSE RESPONSIBLE MUST BE MADE TO MAKE REPARATIONS. THIS STOPS NOW!!! Have a wonderful evening, fellow Canadians.
Hi,
I am a student at Earl Haig Secondary School and I would like make a few clarifications. The students who do the announcements every morning were given a folder of many different languages in which to share the national anthem. The students on the announcements wanted to showcase our school's multiculturalism by playing the national anthem in the array of different languages present at our school, such as English, Arabic, Italian, and Mandarin. They have been cycling through them, and today's choice of Arabic was a badly-timed coincidence. I can assure you that no hate or racism was intended. This incident was no one's fault, and no one should be fired over this mistake. I agree that it was an unfortunate oversight, but I also think it is important to recognize that the students who chose to play the anthem in Arabic had no ill intent whatsoever.