Mother of Montreal High student alleges he was victim of racism

A family from Montreal’s West Island is speaking out, saying their 13-year-old son was the target of racist acts while part of a junior hockey program run by John Rennie High School and Pro Action Hockey.

They say instead of being protected, their son was expelled from the program and the perpetrators were let off the hook.

“It’s 2023. And I don’t think that this should be happening anymore, and it shouldn’t be allowed to happen,” says Nadine Hart the Mother of 13-year-old JC.

Hart says JC was the target of repeated acts of racism, verbally, in the locker room and on social media.

In screenshots of a team group chat on Snapchat sent to us by Hart, the N-word is used multiple times and when her son steps in to say “that’s racist” he is immediately shut down with one member of the team sending gorilla emojis.

For JC, who started playing hockey when he was six-years-old. He says the situation was frustrating, “it just makes you feel kind of like mad and angry and like, there’s, like nothing I could do, because I know they wouldn’t do anything about it,” he says, referring to his coaches and professionals from John Rennie High School.

When Hart and her son brought it to the attention of John Rennie high school and Pro Action Hockey, nothing was done until the situation became physical.

“My son and his white teammate got into an argument, and then this teammate made derogatory comments about the colour of my son’s skin. And then he physically assaulted him and my son.

“He had a swollen face. His lip was swollen. He had cut inside his mouth. There was blood,” describes Hart, adding that coaches and the medic on duty was called to tend to JC’s injuries.

After that incident, JC was expelled from the hockey program – and the perpetrator suspended from school for 3 days – but was able to continue to play in the program.

In two separate statements, Pro Action Hockey and The Lester B. Pearson School Board say diversity, inclusion, and equity are important – that they deplore acts of racism and discrimination – that immediate disciplinary actions were taken after the altercation.

Pro Action Hockey says “we take allegations of this nature very seriously as diversity, inclusion, and equity are of utmost importance to us at Pro Action Hockey. The unacceptable and inappropriate interactions between multiple players do not represent the values of Pro Action Hockey.”

They added “we can confirm that we took immediate measures in partnership with John Rennie High School to ensure that this event was addressed with care and that the appropriate disciplinary actions were put in place.”

The Lester B. Pearson School Board stated that “it deplores all acts of racism and discrimination. The LBPSB was aware that an unacceptable and regrettable event took place during a hockey practice in the community.

“As soon as we were informed of the situation, we immediately took action. In the wake of the incident, disciplinary measures including suspensions were taken against the individuals involved. As well, the school offered the team a series of anti-racism workshops and team-building exercises.

As well, our Council of Commissioners adopted a resolution banning the N-word as part of our commitment to fight racism and promote equality, diversity and inclusion throughout our school board.”

But for Hart, she says both the school board and Pro Action Hockey turned a blind eye to the repeated instances of racial slurs which targeted her son before he was assaulted.

“They were aware, and I feel as if they would have acted upon this right at the start. It wouldn’t have escalated to what happened on December 8th,” she says.

Hart will be filing civil rights complaints against The Lester B. Pearson School Board and Pro Action Hockey, she hopes this will be a beginning to an end to incidents like these.

“ I want our case to be the beginning of the end of racism that prevents not only my children, but all children of colour from playing hockey and from studying in full dignity, security and equality.”

Fo Niemi part of Center for Research-Action on Race Relations who will aid in filling the complaints says, “The Lester B. Pearson School Board and Pro Action Hockey failed to confront, resolve, prevent and to stamp out the racism that my son was experiencing in a swift and effective manner. It’s a systematic failure to address racism.”

For LBPSB this isn’t the first time they have had incidents surrounding racism. In 2020 two incidents in connection with schools the board oversees, made headlines. A video posted to social media showed two young female students dressed in blackface, using racial slurs and mocking the black community. And a yearbook was published with a photo of a black student under the heading ‘most likely to become a wanted criminal.’

RELATED: ‘A way to educate’: Montreal school board bans use of racial slurs, N-word

A task force on equity and inclusion, made up of students, staff, commissioners and community members, was formed and Over 100 recommendations were made to address issues of racism and discrimination to make schools safer.

But Niemi questions if those recommendations have been put in place, “It’s an open question because as our experience shows, if those recommendations have been implemented, perhaps she wouldn’t have been here to talking about this,” he says gesturing to Hart.

At the beginning of February, two months after JC’s was physically injured by another member of the team, Hart met with the regional director of Lester B. Pearson School Board, who informed her that changes will be implemented in the future including training for coaches on handling such incidents; adopting a code of conduct for parents and players, as well as support for students.

Hart says, change should of already been implemented, and that the lack of action from both the school board and Pro Action Hockey will make it okay for racist acts to continue.

“They failed to confront, resolve, prevent and to stamp out the racism that my son was experiencing…It is clear that anti-black racism is not taken seriously by the school and the sports partner. Racial bullying and slurs were allowed to fester in that program due to the tolerance and inaction.”