Centre Communautaire Darlington

By Dan Laxer
The Suburban

A community centre in the Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough is distancing itself from the education ministry report into the École Bedford scandal.

The Centre Communautaire Darlington is just up the road from the school on Goyer Street. In a press release issued last week the president, Said Soali, categorically denied any connection to the school, or to the controversy that led to the suspension of 11 teachers at École Bedford. The community centre’s connection to the school was implied in the government’s report into the matter.

A journalist first broke the story of the “toxic” activity on the part of the 11 teachers at the school, along with revelations of similar controversy in other institutions, prompting the involvement of Education Minister Bernard Drainville, and Liberal MNA Marwah Rizqy, the official opposition critic for education, who called for the resignation of the Director-General of the CSSDM.

In the press release Soali said, “the Darlington Community Centre, recognized for its role in promoting social cohesion and community development, wishes to make it clear that it has no connection with the internal tensions or management problems highlighted in this report. Any implicit association stems from a misunderstanding of its mission and activities.”

The education ministry report into the École Bedford controversy singled out teachers referred to as being of “North African” or “Maghrebi” origin, with revelations of psychological and physical abuse, denial of learning challenges, banning girls from sports, and other issues. The alleged teaching of religious concepts particularly raised Drainville’s ire, given the scope of the CAQ government’s secularism bill.

In the press release Soali added that the centre “is neither a religious organization nor a centre for the Arab community. It offers a range of inclusive services to meet the needs of Quebecers in the neighbourhood, regardless of their origin.”

Soali goes on to say that even though the centre does offer an “espace de recueillement,” which could be translated either as a meditation space, or a prayer space, the centre’s mission is, rather, the inclusion and well-being of the community as a whole. n