Largest school board in southwestern Ontario cancels future field trips to U.S.
Meanwhile, the London District Catholic School Board said it's 'business as usual' for student trips
Southwestern Ontario's largest school board is cancelling future field trips to the United States, saying it's falling in line with the decisions made by other provincial boards.
The Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) announced the plan at a meeting Tuesday night, noting that trips already scheduled will go ahead.
"We aren't planning any future trips to the United States. We do have previously planned and approved trips that will continue and are occurring between now and May the 22nd," Superintendent Jeff Beynon said in a brief statement to trustees.
There were no questions raised by trustees about the decision. CBC News requested an interview with Beynon on Wednesday to better understand specific concerns about travel, but a TVDSB spokesperson said he was unavailable and shared an email statement instead.
"While we have not encountered any issues involving trips into the U.S., TVDSB will pause the approval of such moving forward," said Beynon. "We will continue to monitor the situation and may revisit this move in the future if circumstances change."
Last week, British Columbia's largest school board put all field trips down south on hold to prevent any "negative experiences at the border," while New Brunswick's largest French school district abruptly cancelled a high school band trip as a "precautionary decision."
The London District Catholic School Board said Wednesday that it would continue to run field trips to the U.S., with spokesperson Mark Adkinson writing that it's "business as usual." He said the board monitors Canada's travel advisories, of which there are currently none.
"I feel like it's a responsible decision right now considering the political state of the U.S. currently," said Gr. 11 student Bronwyn Kerr, who goes to H.B. Beal Secondary School. "I'm just thinking about the safety of the students being there, and crossing the border seems pretty difficult right now."
Kerr said she is worried that her peers who are immigrants or part of the 2SLGBTQ+ community could face challenges at the border.
"Especially at Beal, we have a lot of kids who identify as non-binary and trans and I know that's a really big thing right now," she said, referring to U.S. President Donald Trump's order to recognize only two sexes: male and female.
"It's not necessarily that something might happen, but just for the students to feel comfortable, I think it's a good decision [tp cancel trips] right now," Kerr said.
11 trips still going ahead
Students from the TVDSB have recently been to the United States for a robotics competition, and there are still 11 trips that will go ahead before the end of the school year, including Chicago and New York music trips.
"Schools set to travel to the U.S. have developed contingency plans," Beynon said, adding that staff will drive to the boarder separately, in case students have problems crossing.