TDSB apologizes for removing tree in memory of Jordan Manners, will change policy on memorials

After Loreen Small was told a tree planted in her late son’s memory was moved nearby to accommodate the construction of a new playground, the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) now says the memorial tree was removed altogether.

“Upon further investigation, we have now learned that the original tree was removed as staff did not think it was healthy enough to survive being relocated. New trees were then planted nearby,” TDSB spokesperson Ryan Bird told Global News in a written statement.

“We spoke with the family [on Thursday] to provide them an update and to convey our sincere apologies. This should not have happened without notifying the family.”

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Jordan Manners was 15 years old when he was shot to death inside C.W. Jefferys Collegiate Institute in 2007. The tree was planted by the TDSB a year later in the schoolyard at Shoreham Public School, near Jane Street and Finch Avenue West where the family used to live. Manners went to the elementary school there. Small said the school was special because she said the teachers were great and he did well at the school.

Small said when she arrived at Shoreham school yard earlier this month to visit the memorial, she was surprised to find the tree, as well as a memorial plaque, had vanished and a new playground had been built.

“It’s hurtful, it’s like a disrespect. I mean, if you’re going to do something like this, yes, I’m all happy for the kids that they have something like this that they can go and play,” Small previously told Global News.

“But at the same time … you planted the tree in good faith for my son and this is what you do.”

Bird said the TDSB will work with Manners’s family to pick a new tree. He also said the board will have a new plaque installed, which Bird noted had disappeared some time before construction began. Few staff members at the school today, including the principal, were working there back when Manners was a student. He said the board has offered to have a re-dedication ceremony after the playground is officially opened.

As a result of the incident, Bird said the TDSB will be changing its policies in an effort to prevent a similar situation from happening.

“We will ensure that information about memorials, such as trees or plaques, are marked clearly on school drawings and maps and that when new principals arrive at a school, they are made aware,” he said.