“Hatchet Job” or pre-emptive coup at YCDSB?

Joe Volpe November 1, 2026

TORONTO – It is no secret that the Corriere has become known for its coverage of Education issues. More specifically, of the on-going assaults on Catholic Education – granted as part of a constitutional deal to secure the formation of Canada – and the development of “International languages Day Program”. The need for this latter agenda being more obvious daily, as Canada’s demographics evolve linguistically because the impact of “newer cultures” is numerically ever stronger.

Hence the importance of a clear well funded vision of educational strategies to protect, nurture, develop, sound citizens equipped with the skills to survive, adapt and lead all of us forward. It is no mean task. Canada has been built on the ethos of valuing differences while integrating and contributing. We entrust to elected and electable (those who respect basic principles – transparency, accountability, merit… The product is not always unanimously praised.

Speaking from the experience of one has who has been to more Board meetings at the York Catholic District School Board (YCDSB) over the last eight years, I think I can speak to effectiveness of ability, style about dedication of both Trustees and Senior Staff as they pertain student needs, staff competence, educational strategies and program development (as an aside, I have a Master’s in Administration, certification for all levels of the education panels and the experience of one who “built schools” in an emerging Separate system).

The YCDSB, one of the last school boards to be “suspended”, put under supervision, by Minister Calandra for not meeting [his] targets for financial liquidity, produced candidates for trustees that had the effect of clearing some of “the dead wood” but it also allowed for two trustees to be acclaimed by the public – Di Meo and Chair Iafrate.

Di Meo, while relatively new, demonstrated competence and promise. Chair Iafrate, a former senior middle management Banker showed exacting diligence and duty planning. The Senior Staff (Directors and Superintendents chafed under her questioning. The last director, John De Faveri, lodged a code of conduct complaint against her, which the Star and a local subsidiary, in a story published October 30, titled “Chair disciplined for disparaging comments”.

In a behind closed doors conversation that took place about eleven months ago (Mr De Favari has not been on the job since January), she referred to him as a fornicating lump of excrement. Someone launched an investigation on nine points at issue. An Integrity Commissioner filed a report to the Supervisor finding that she had transgressed the code on three of the items but did not identify the sources (two of them, redacted) or determine the reliability of the witnesses.

It gets better. Despite early reports to the contrary, De Faveri was actually on the job until June 30 and remains as special advisor to the Supervisor. He did not recuse himself from the investigation. (Click here for all the questions we posed of the Board Comms director on the matter).

For her part, in response to the accusations on the matter including motives and the passages of time. She was firm: I am a woman, a mother, a Catholic, a retired banker and a damned good Chair of this Board. Calandra owes it to the parents of York Region to reconvene our Board and let me do my job.

Seems to me that York Catholics, Italians (Ciociari in particular) have a real champion. What are they doing?

In the photo below: Cardinal Frank Leo and Maria Iafrate, Chair of the YCDSB and representative of “ItaliaLinguaCultura”

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