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.
 | A guest post by
|
You know how to stop "mistakes" like this from happening? Play the CANADIAN national anthem in one of the two official language of Canada. Problem solved.
Only the French or English versions of OH Canada should be played in our schools. These are the 2 official languages in our country .