The Ontario government says it is introducing a mandatory Holocaust education learning requirement in the province’s Grade 6 curriculum. Education Minister Steven Lecce says the requirement is part of reforms to help young students understand the significance of the Holocaust and combat what the government says is increasing anti-Semitism in schools. Lecce says his ministry will also work with the Ontario College of Teachers to develop professional learning for teachers so they can further support Holocaust education efforts. The province says the Grade 6 learning requirement for Holocaust education will be implemented in September 2023. A similar requirement is currently part of the Grade 10 Canadian history curriculum. “We are taking action to fight anti-Semitism and hatred, because those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it,” Lecce wrote in a statement on Wednesday. The province says more than 50 incidents of anti-Semitic hate symbols have taken place in the Toronto District School Board in the 2021-2022 school year alone. This report by The Canadian Press was first published on November 9, 2022. ——— This story was produced with financial assistance from Meta and the Canadian Press News Fellowship. The Canadian Press
