Press Release
Catholic trustees of Ontario celebrated their 80th-annual general meeting and conference in Thunder Bay on April 29-May 1.
This was the first time in 80 years the conference had been held in Northwestern Ontario.
The conference hosted more than 250 Catholic trustees from across Ontario, and the event was hosted by a joint committee of the board chairs and directors of education in the Northwest Catholic District School Board, Kenora Catholic District School Board, Superior North Catholic District School Board, and Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board.
Ontario Catholic School Trustees Association president Paula Peroni “thanked the Catholic boards of Northwestern Ontario for a tremendous amount of planning by a number of very dedicated people.”
“We are so grateful for the support and enthusiasm demonstrated by our fine northern host boards,” she added.
Some highlights of the conference were the keynote address and liturgy with Most Rev. Fred Colli D. D., Bishop of Thunder Bay, a panel addressing Ontario’s Equity and Inclusion Strategy, and Ontario Education minister Leona Dombrowsky.
The closing address was by Andrew Coyne, national editor of Maclean’s magazine, speaking on “Educational Reform.”
At the OCSTA mass at St. Agnes Church, Northwest Catholic District School Board chair Anne-Marie Fitzgerald was commissioned by the bishop and OCSTA chaplain Fr. Fitzpatrick to be a member of the provincial board of directors.
Peroni thanked our Catholic trustees for “answering the call to service.”
“Your commitment to the students entrusted to our care embodies all that is meant by our conference theme, ‘Catholic Education: Rejoicing in Hope,’” she added.
