Maryam Safdar Ali
14.1 You see, discrimination and oppression against the racialized community in the Niagara Region were only clearly demonstrated after the Turner Consulting Group audited the DSBN and Warren Hoshizaki. That the DSBN and Warren Hoshizaki decide that Maryam Safdar Ali would be a good addition to their under racialized workforce. Maryam Safdar Ali is just another token, just like Mr. Thomas is at Connaught Public School.
14.2 Let us now examine how Maryam Safdar Ali compares to Mr. Thomas and what commonalities they share;
- a. Maryam Safdar Ali, like Mr. Thomas at Connaught Public School is the only visible racialized employee under the Senior Leadership Team of 15 individuals.
- b. Maryam Safdar Ali could under the DSBN Senior Leadership Team be considered the lone 6% racialized employee, similar to Mr. Thomas, who is the sole less than 2% racialized employee at Connaught Public School.
- c. Mr. Thomas is believed to be temporary and not full-time, as Maryam Safdar is simply as she is only a Human Rights ADVISOR.
14.3 Let us review everyone’s titles and positions within the DSBN Senior Leadership Team.
Warren Hoshizaki – DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION
Darren Van Hooydonk – SUPERINTENDENT OF EDUCATION
Kelly Pisek – SUPERINTENDENT OF EDUCATION
Simon Hancox – SUPERINTENDENT OF EDUCATION
Mary Anne Gage – SUPERINTENDENT OF EDUCATION
Marian Reimer Friesen – SUPERINTENDENT OF EDUCATION
Ann Gilmore – SUPERINTENDENT OF EDUCATION
Leanne Smith – SUPERINTENDENT OF EDUCATION
Michael St. John – SUPERINTENDENT OF SPECIAL EDUCATION & MENTAL HEALTH AND WELL-BEING
Stacy Veld – SUPERINTENDENT OF BUSINESS SERVICES/TREASURER OF THE BOARD
Lora Courtois –- SUPERINTENDENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES
Robert Dunn – CONTROLLER OF FACILITY SERVICES
Jennifer Feren – BOARD LAWYER
Kim Sweeney – SENIOR MANAGER OF COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC RELATIONS
Steve Klimczuk – SENIOR MANAGER OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SERVICES
Maryam Safdar Ali – HUMAN RIGHTS ADVISOR
14.4 There are no other individuals in the list that have the ADVISOR title beside their names! Whereas Maryam Safdar Ali on the other hand was unable to obtain a reasonable and well deserved title or position of real authority or influence.
14.5 Maryam Safdar Ali is merely a HUMAN RIGHTS ADVISOR. An advisor is someone who gives advice. Having or consisting in the power to make recommendations, BUT NOT TO TAKE ACTION ENFORCING THEM!
14.6 There is no simple coincidence that the DSBN and Warren Hoshizaki hired a racialized Maryam Safdar Ali to assume the position of Human Rights Advisor. It would be extremely questionable if they created a Human Rights Advisor position and then continued to fill positions with Caucasians despite the Turn Consulting Group Audit criticizing them for doing so.
14.7 Thus Maryam Safdar Ali, I am sure, was the lucky racialized individual who won the job of Human Rights Advisor from a very small handpicked DSBN list.
14.8 It is a good thing that the Turner Consulting Group conducted the DSBN Audit since it compelled the DSBN and Warren Hoshizaki to address these above issue that all racialized families and DSBN workforce individuals employees were already aware of.
14.9 Human Rights issues are not new to the DSBN and Warren Hoshizaki, but it wasn’t until the Turner Consulting Group Audit them that they now decided to create a Human Rights Advisor position and fill it with a racialized employee.
14.10 Maryam Safdar Ali, like Mr. Thomas, is clearly just another racialized individual who is only present because the numbers require it. The DSBN, Warren Hoshizaki, Jacqueline Ravazzolo, Mary Anne Gage, and Christopher McInnis were clearly unconcerned about equity issues at Connaught Public School as the less than 2% racialized workforce demonstrates this.
14.11 The DSBN and Warren Hoshizaki only named Maryam Safdar Ali to the position, which will be responsible for implementing the boards ‘Equity Audit Action Plan,’ as well as continuing to establish a culture of respect for the values of human rights and equity inside the DSBN.’ out of necessity.
14.12 So will Maryam Safdar Ali lose her job as soon as the Equality Audit Action Plan is fully implemented and completed?
14.13 Note that Maryam Safdar Ali is not available to provide legal or human rights advice. She is only the Human Rights Advisor in responsibility of putting the boards “Equity Audit Action Plan” into effect. That appears to be the work of Caucasian Jennifer Feren, the DSBN Board Counsel, who according to LinkedIn, has no expertise dealing with racism and discrimination.
14.14 Jennifer Feren, as a Board Counsel witnessed the DSBN’s and Warren Hoshizaki’s oppression, discrimination and sexism and said nothing.
14.15 It is incredible that a lawyer literally sat back and did nothing while eating her lunch and looking at her computer every day! Never giving it a second thought to consider that this bias behavior and practice would be a terrible idea.
14.16 We can suppose fighting the oppression, prejudice and sexism with in the DSBN were not a part of her daily routine and on her pay scale. And if she did think about it, it appears she eventual just leaned back in her chair and was complacent about the situation.
14.17 We can assume that Maryam Safdar Ali is exceptionally intelligent and well educated. We will assume that she will perform what is expected of her with great skill and precision. There is no reason to doubt that Maryam Safdar Ali is more than qualified to work at the DSBN.
14.18 Despite her significant legal expertise, she has worked with a variety of firms and clinics that cover a wide range of practice areas, including family law, immigration and refugee law, criminal law, intellectual property law, human rights law, employment law and administrative law.
14.19 She has a Bachelor’s degree from York University with a double major in Human Rights and Equity studies and Law and Society. She holds a Juris Doctorate from the University of Ottawa. And all the DSBN and Warren Hoshizaki did was offer her a simple advisor role with the sole purpose of implementing the boards Equity Audit Action Plan.
14.20 It seems that the DSBN and Warren Hoshizaki don’t appreciate all the hard work Maryam Safdar Ali has done to get herself where she is in life. I guess she is just another part-time racialized token employee like the Mr. Thompson.
14.21 The DSBN and Warren Hoshizaki, on the other hand, appear to appreciate the light skin complexion employees. You know that wonderful light/golden brown that isn’t overly racialized looking. Is it any surprise that the DSBN and Warren Hoshizaki hire a fair-skinned individual like Maryam Safdar Ali for a role involving racialized groups? It should not, as the DSBN and Warren Hoshizaki very much prefer to hire light skin or Mixed Race origins individuals over Single Race origins individuals.
14.22 It has been well established and proven that the DSBN and Warren Hoshizaki have a preference for Caucasian and Mixed Race looking individuals. But when it comes to filling racialized positions, a light skinned applicant seems a lot more White-ish than a dark skinned applicant.
14.23 And don’t be fooled into thinking Maryam Safdar Ali is a one-off. They did it again by filling a racially sensitive position with another person with light skin.