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Committee meeting today to discuss Vanier renaming

'The way some things were handled, sometimes I was a little bit frustrated,' says student committee member
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Jean Vanier Catholic High School in Collingwood. Erika Engel/CollingwoodToday

The Jean Vanier school naming committee will be meeting today to renew onversations about a new name for Collingwood’s Catholic high school.

On Wednesday evening after an emotional Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board meeting, trustees voted to have the committee choose a name in conjunction with Director of Education Brian Beal.

Back in April, trustees voted down the committee and school’s choice to rename the school Our Lady of the Bay Catholic High school by a vote of 4-4.

On Wednesday night after nearly two hours of deputations and discussion, they also defeated four other motions regarding the name before voting 5-3 to put the decision back in the hands of the original committee.

Rachelle Paczesny, a Grade 11 student at the Catholic high school, served on both the school naming committee and the oversight committee to determine the new name.

She spoke during the meeting on Wednesday night during a delegation to plead with trustees to reconsider naming the school Our Lady of the Bay.

“I think this was a great decision on their part, as much as I wish they had just chosen the name that night,” said Paczesny. “I’m glad that, in the end, the decision was put back to Mr. Beal and the naming committee.”

“Most of the trustees had the best interest of the community at heart, in the end,” she added. “I was pretty happy about that.”

Looking back at the entire process, Paczesny said she wishes the process hadn’t taken as long as it has.

“Coming down to it, I’m glad it’s pretty much over. It was tedious. The way some things were handled, sometimes I was a little bit frustrated,” she said. “However, I’m proud I was a part of the process.”

This time, the name chosen by the committee in conjunction with Beal will be presented to trustees for information only. Trustees will not have input on the choice.

According to a report released by French-based charity L'Arche International, its late Canadian founder Vanier had manipulative sexual relationships with women over several decades.

Vanier, who died last year at the age of 90, had relationships with at least six women between 1970 and 1995, some of whom said Vanier used his power over them to take advantage of them through different kinds of sexual behaviours, alleges the report.

As a result, multiple schools across Canada that bear the name Jean Vanier have been tasked with choosing new names for their schools.


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Jessica Owen

About the Author: Jessica Owen

Jessica Owen is an experienced journalist working for Village Media since 2018, primarily covering Collingwood and education.
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