in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, Ju ne 17 ,2 02 1 | 14 NICE TO MEET YOU -- ADVERTORIAL -- Paul (left) and Melody Jordan owners Get your future travel in gear Front Line Tours is ready to help you and your family create lasting memories this summer with their zero-deposit booking process. The Burlington-based tour company has made it easier now more than ever to reserve your seat for Canadian tours on offer. Adventure seekers have a wide selection of tours to choose from. The Quebec City tour is offered in August, September and October. If exploring the outdoors is more your speed, the five-day Rocky Mountain Adventure is a great option. There's something for everyone. The four-day Agawa train and Manitoulin Island is a must for those seeking a scenic tour. Paul and Melody Jordan, owners and operators of Front Line Tours, says the zero-deposit booking process is only available for a short time until the end of July. Reserving your seats now will guarantee your spot for one of the many fantastic tours available. The Jordans says that every day they're pivoting to ensure everyone's safety. "We've implemented new safety regulations for when we open back up, but we're always adjusting to make sure things run safely and smoothly." Upon boarding a Front Line Tours coach bus, passengers can expect to see plexiglass partitions throughout the bus. "We're always enhancing our sanitization guidelines, and high-touch areas are always wiped down with approved disinfectant sprays," explains Paul Jordan. "Passengers will also be given clear instructions on how to enter and exit the coach safely." No need to worry about sharing seats, Melody Jordan says every passenger has assigned seating for the duration of the trip, "no interchanging at all between seats," she says. Front Line Tours has been serving Canadians with comfortable nationwide tours for more than 20 years. As a family business, the Jordan family values every relationship with their customers. "Reserve your spot today," says Paul Jordan, "and see why Front Line Tours is the preeminent name in making memories." 8-1450 Headon Rd, Burlington 1-855-943-4242 frontlinetours.ca As they sat on the cusp of graduation from the Hal- ton District School Board, two Oakville students chose not to leave without issuing a bold challenge to the board. After recounting four years of lived anti-Black racism at White Oaks Sec- ondary School, they de- manded accountability. "We wanted to start off by saying how much it means to us that this ex- tremely important issue is finally receiving the atten- tion it deserves, and that the voices of so many stu- dents who speak out against the racism they face on a daily basis have been silently ignored for so long; so, it's truly important that today their struggles will be heard," said Tyler Henry, one of the Grade 12 students who addressed the HDSB June 2. Alexis Graham ended their presentation with the following question: "We want to know what will be done about account- ability because so far, we as students, have experienced very little action in this re- gard." In the face of the stu- dents' accusations, the board expressed remorse over the girls' experiences and welcomed being "en- lightened" to the reality in some of their schools' hall- ways and classrooms. "Their relating of their experiences and that of oth- er students is unsettling to say the least. Clearly, what- ever we have done is not enough. Clearly," com- mented director of educa- tion Stuart Miller. "There are no excuses. Every adult in that (school) building should be holding kids to account, holding each other to account, hold- ing staff to account for the language they use in the halls, in the classrooms, in the cafeterias and every- where else. Every student needs to feel like they be- long." Ironically, the board re- cently established a Hu- man Rights & Equity Advi- sory Committee to support its commitments in the 2020/2024 Multi-Year Plan, as well as its Human Rights Equity Action & Account- ability Plan: The Way For- ward. A priority initiative this year has been the Dis- criminatory & Harmful Language Protocol. "My heart goes out to you for experiencing what you have experienced," said superintendent of human resources Sari Taha. "No matter how many policies we have in place and how much we hold peo- ple accountable, one inci- dent where accountability isn't upheld is one too many." The board has the tools to address racism, but "we're hearing clearly from the students that it's still not happening," said super- intendent of education Rob Eatough, expressing his "extreme disappointment". "It's a story and a mes- sage that we all need to hear but I don't want trust- ees or the public thinking that it's a unique story to White Oaks," Miller said. "It's happening in our other schools as well, and we're determined to fix it in our other schools as well." Staff are working on ini- tiatives to strengthen ac- countability, said Jewel Amoah, human rights and equity advisor with the board. "We have to be more transparent in the actions and the monitoring and en- forcement of those (proto- cols and procedures)," Amoah said. The board's policies, procedures, and commit- ment are "clearly laid out and now it's really moving from words to action," something the entire board is committed to do, said Ea- tough. "It's often hard to under- stand the experiences of students, especially stu- dents that have a different experience, come from dif- ferent cultural back- grounds, are Black, Indige- nous, and it's important, it's very important that we hear from our students, that we know how their ex- perience is going and how we can make it better," said board chair Andrea Gre- benc. "Because if you're not feeling safe, or welcome, or feel like you belong in your community, you're going to have a hard time feeling well about who you are and being able to achieve, reach your potential. And that's what we want." STUDENTS CONFRONT PUBLIC BOARD OVER ISSUE OF RACISM KATHY YANCHUS kyanchus@metroland.com Tyler Henry (left) and Alexis Graham want the Halton District School Board to be more accountable on racism. Graham Paine/Metroland NEWS