MISSISSAUGA, Ont. – Leaders with the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), including the president of the Ontario branch, have written an open letter to the Peel District School Board (PDSB) about recent Islamophobic rhetoric and actions directed against members of the Board community, including Board trustees and students. The letter, which was posted on the CUPE website on April 5, cited a PDSB meeting on March 22, describing what happened there as “just one in a series of hate-filled incidents experienced by our school community over the last few months.” The authors – consisting of CUPE Ontario president Fred Hahn and the leaders of Locals 1628 and 2544 – urged the Board to ensure that workers’ rights under the Ontario Human Rights Code and Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom are respected. “We stand in full support of the PDSB’s effort to ensure students’ human rights are respected in our schools,” the letter read. “We also know that the hateful rhetoric and actions we’re seeing have nothing to do with the steps taken by the PDSB to ensure students’ rights. They are meant to intimidate and spread hate.” The letter authors noted the difficulty of confronting those responsible for Islamophobic attacks “when it is perfectly clear they want to elicit a response,” but maintained that an end to hateful behaviour was necessary. The PDSB runs schools in Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon, Ont.