Scarborough parents call on school, TDSB to do more to prevent vaping in washrooms
CBC
A group of concerned parents is putting pressure on a Scarborough high school and the Toronto District School Board to stop students from vaping in the school's bathroom.
The group has sent a letter to principal Leslie Ann Klinger of Sir Oliver Mowat Collegiate Institute asking her for "proposed solutions as soon as possible." Copied on the letter was the superintendent of the TDSB, as well as the city councillor and the MPP for Scarborough-Rouge Park where the school is located.
"Many of our sons and daughters have told us that use of the washrooms is intimidating, and that they will choose to go offsite when necessary," the letter reads.
"Preventative measures coupled with strict enforcement of these policies is critical."
The letter suggests effective smoke detectors would crack down on bathroom vaping.
But one of the parents, Chris Haslett, knows the problem doesn't start and end at Mowat.
"My brother is in Ottawa and his son is experiencing it in high school. We have friends who are experiencing it here in Toronto ... It's also happening in Burlington," said Haslett.
Haslett says the idea for the letter came about when the daughter of a fellow Mowat parent said she had made several complaints to the school but felt like nothing was being done about it.
"The congregation of groups of people in these washrooms is making it intimidating for kids at an age where they're already scared about going to the washroom in front of other people," Haslett told CBC Toronto.
A Sept. 21 response from Mowat principal Leslie Ann Klinger says the school is responding with a number of measures mostly focused on bathroom checks and student messaging, such as leadership group announcements and poster campaigns about the health effects of vaping.
A representative from the TDSB also says vaping is not permitted anywhere on school property and can result in suspensions.
But Haslett says he feels more needs to be done.
"We used to smoke on planes, libraries, Shoppers Drug Mart. We don't anymore. Education is one reason, laws are another and sensitive smoke detectors like those on planes are some of the ways this has been combatted," Haslett wrote in a Facebook post.
Klinger said in her response the school cannot install non-board cameras or smoke detectors.
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