A number of Catholic schools across Canada, which are named after Jean Vanier, have begun debating whether to strip his name from their institutions, including the one in Collingwood.
Allegations of sexual abuse surfaced over the weekend against Jean Vanier, involving at least six developmentally-disabled women between 1970 and 1995.
In a letter issued to parents on Sunday, Brian Beal, director of education for the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board said, “As a community, we have legitimate concerns, discomfort and perhaps a sense of shame about having a namesake who was involved in the sexual assault and exploitation of several women. There are so many things we will now need to consider as we move forward as a school community, not the least of which is our school’s name.”
He added, “In light of what we now know about Jean Vanier, we are committed to working with the staff, students and parents in our community to review how we should best move forward with the name of our Catholic high school in Collingwood.”
According to board officials, they will undertake community consultations on a name change for Jean Vanier Catholic High School in Collingwood, which is in line with their board policies.
In the meantime, this week students have been given permission to wear their own clothes to class instead of their school uniform.
To read the entire letter sent home to parents, please click here.
