PRESS RELEASE: Horizon Ottawa Announces Eight Endorsements for OCDSB Trustee

OTTAWA - This morning, Horizon Ottawa announced endorsements for eight school board trustee candidates for the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board. This follows an announcement in August of the organization’s endorsements of city councillors.

Horizon Ottawa’s membership worked with the Rideau Students Union (RSU), an organization consisting of high school students advocating for progressive policy at the school board level, to come up with its suggested list of endorsements.

“The RSU is happy to collaborate with Horizon Ottawa to endorse progressive trustee candidates who will listen to the voice of students and their communities” said Owen Oussoren, Co-President of the Rideau Students’ Union. “It is essential that we push to elect trustees who can act in the best interest of students to create and maintain safe and open learning environments.”

The race for school board trustee is particularly significant this election due to the alarming rise in candidates openly displaying transphobic and bigoted views. Shannon Boschy, a candidate in Zone 6, likened trans people to a “dangerous social contagion.” Horizon Ottawa encourages its membership and residents across the city to vote and volunteer for trustees committed to a safe and inclusive classroom environment.

“One of our fundamental goals at Horizon Ottawa is to ensure our city becomes a place that truly welcomes and supports all of its residents not the very few who hold hateful views - the politics espoused by some of the candidates running this year stand in direct opposition to that core principle,”  said Jaime Sadgrove, a Horizon Ottawa member. “Teachers, students, parents and school staff were largely abandoned during the pandemic and we have since learned Doug Ford spent millions of dollars less than what was budgeted for during the last year. We need trustees who will fight for our public education system.”

The list of endorsed trustee candidates is available on the Horizon Ottawa website.

-30-

For Media Inquiries:

Sam Hersh
[email protected]
613-663-7018