Records obtained through freedom of information requests show that the Durham District School Board spent at least $693,250 on anti-racism consultants. Taxpayers are covering the cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars in ideological consulting services with little visibility into how program funding decisions are made or how results are evaluated.
The bulk of that spending — $442,230 — was awarded over three years to Nicole West-Burns, who was hired to deliver a program titled Disrupting & Dismantling Anti-Black Racism through Critically Conscious Practitioner Inquiry.
West-Burns’ program, “Critically Conscious Practitioner Inquiry,” applies the principles of critical race theory into the fabric of school life from leadership policy and planning to classroom lessons. The program isn’t a lesson plan so much as a lens from which educators are encouraged to question institutional practices, challenge curriculum standards, and adopt practices that attack “whiteness”, or the dominant European culture as a means to purportedly eliminate anti-black racism.
The total spent on consultants by the DDSB may be higher than documented. The freedom of information request only captured invoices over $5,000, which leaves open the possibility of additional smaller contracts or bundled services that were not disclosed in the response.
The board’s financial statements include expenses for “coordinators and consultants” but don’t differentiate in-house from third-party contracts. Consultant expenses appear under a single category that includes both full-time instructional coordinators and outside service providers. True North contacted the board for clarification but did not receive a response.
The release of these records follows a push by the Ontario government to assert more control over school board operations. Last month, Minister of Education Paul Calandra introduced Bill 33, which would expand the ministry’s ability to intervene in board affairs, direct spending priorities, and override decisions deemed contrary to the public interest. Minster Calandra said he was “fed up with the politics in schools” and that the bill would rein in ideological spending, increase oversight, and return focus to core student achievement.
Some commentators have repeated that Bill 33 is designed to address ideological spending but the requirement for diversity, equity, and inclusion originates from the Ministry of Education itself and not the boards. Through the Education Equity Secretariat, the ministry encourages schools to adopt what it calls “Culturally Responsive and Relevant Pedagogy” — the applied version of critical race theory — since the release of the Education Equity Action Plan. These policies guide school board decision-making around curriculum, staffing, student services, and professional learning.
Ministry reports confirm that the practice is being supported and implemented with targeted funding. In 2022–2023, select boards received financial support for equity-focused projects, though the list of participating boards was not made public. It is not clear whether DDSB was one of the recipients.
Dr. Ardavan Eizadirad, an expert in anti-oppressive pedagogy at Wilfrid Laurier University believes that programs like Critically Conscious Practitioner Inquiry are vital elements that help to improve school culture by proving a framework for teachers to respond to systemic barriers faced by their students.
He told True North that “similar approaches such as restorative justice can be effective, but any new initiative must include data assessment and evaluation tools to measure short- and long-term impact to ensure a meaningful return on investment.”
Others question whether the claims made by critical race theory stand up to scrutiny. Stephen Reich, a PhD student at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education told True North that “we have no evidence, historical or otherwise, that reducing humanity to oppressors and the oppressed benefits anyone other than its advocates.”
The provincial government continues to express concern about school board spending, governance, and the inappropriate politicization of education. Yet much of the responsibility lies with the Ministry of Education itself, which funds and directs school boards to implement ideological programs — potentially costing taxpayers millions in consultant fees.
Minister Calandra’s office has not responded to True North’s email asking whether he is aware that his ministry mandates critical race theory-based education and whether he intends to re-evaluate these directives given his goal of depoliticizing Ontario’s education system under Bill 33.
The $693,250 spent by the DDSB on anti-racism consultants offers a glimpse into this dynamic. While the public is left to uncover the true costs through freedom of information requests, opaque reporting structures shield these expenditures from scrutiny. The ministry, meanwhile, appears to deflect blame onto boards rather than addressing the ideological mandates it created.