Students and parents from Pierrefonds Community High School (PCHS) in the Montreal borough of Pierrefonds-Roxboro are speaking out about alleged incidents of racism on campus.
“I don’t wanna wait until there’s a child who can’t deal with it anymore and decides to self-harm or take their own life,” said parent Sharon Freeman, whose son attends the school.
Freeman and the other families of African descent say racialized students have been the subject of slurs and bullying for years and they want the school to take action.
Three Black students, who feel targeted because of their skin colour, spoke to Global News on the condition of anonymity out of fear of possible reprisals.
“To think that school is supposed to be a place where you should feel safe at,” one told Global News fighting back tears. “As soon as I walk into the building, I sigh because I know today a situation will happen. Someone’s going to come at me.”
According to the teens, the racism takes a number of forms.
“They’ll joke about whipping me,” the second student claimed. “They’ll call me N-words, they’ll laugh at me, they’ll make fun of my skin colour.”
The third teen alleges classmates have even joked about lynching and mimic the sound of whips in the presence of Black students.
The students say the N-word has become pervasive on campus and point to another incident a few weeks ago.
“A situation on Google Classroom with a student who was constantly spamming the N-word in the chat,” the first pupil explained.
Get breaking National news
For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.
In a screen capture of the session obtained by Global News, the N-word appears numerous time on the screen covering the entire chat window.
A Lester B. Pearson School Board (LBPSB) official wrote to Global News in an email saying, “the principal was made aware of the situation and immediately took appropriate action.”
But the email didn’t specify what action was taken, and the students who spoke to Global News claim school authorities acted only after several complaints. They believe the school didn’t do enough.
The LBPSB also wrote that they take the allegations “extremely seriously” and that they have taken numerous steps to fight racism and discrimination, including banning the use of the N-word. They pointed to a task force on equity, diversity and inclusivity that they launched, a report for which was released in 2021.
In addition, they wrote, “the Council of Commissioners adopted its EDDI policy in September 2024. A first for the Lester B. Pearson School Board, it is a reiteration of the school board’s commitment to take action to reduce discrimination and marginalization.”
The statement continues, “despite these ongoing efforts, hurtful and harmful behaviour continues to affect members of our community. We want to reaffirm that any form of racism, discrimination, or harassment has no place in our school board. Inappropriate behaviour is taken seriously with resulting disciplinary action, where appropriate.”
Those making the allegations argue the policies aren’t being properly enforced.
“There are holes and gaps in those policies,” Freeman insisted. “We need to read them over, see what’s missing.”
The three students agree and pointed out that despite good teachers who are making a positive difference, more needs to be done.
“Why am I walking into my high school and I don’t feel safe?” one of them wondered, becoming emotional. “We’re raised in a society where we’re told to be kind and to be considerate and to accept all people. But yet, I’m walking into my high school and I don’t feel like I should be there.”
There have been similar allegations against other Montreal-area schools. On Sunday, several parents went public blasting school authorities for not taking the problem seriously enough.
According to the provincial Ombudsman’s office, 80 complaints were filed in the 2023-2024 school year in the Lac-et-des-Rapides region alone, which includes the LBPSB and the Marguerite-Bourgeoys school service centre schools. Eighteen percent of the complaints were for intimidation and violence.
“I can say that in a number of those, there were elements of acts of racial bullying or violence, name-calling, exclusion of racialized students,” said regional student ombudsman, Maia Aziz.
Regarding the allegations against PCHS, the LBPSB says there is a complaints process “should students or members of our community believe due process has not been followed.”
Community groups supporting the families making the allegations are planning a town hall meeting with parents and students in early March to decide on next steps.