Ottawa War Show being promoted in
Ottawa-Carleton Schools!
How the War Show is being Promoted in Ottawa-Carleton
Schools
The "National Capital Air Show" (NCAS) (a.k.a. the Ottawa war show)
has just promoted itself through a mailing by the Ottawa-Carleton Assembly of
School Councils (OCASC). This group has parent representatives from ALL
Ottawa-Carleton District School Board schools, both elementary and secondary.
Recipients of the mailing included ALL of the School Council Chairpersons in
Ottawa-Carleton.
OCASC was mailing an agenda package for their next meeting, on September 21.
Included in that OCASC mailing was a document called "School Council
Fundraising Opportunity" which encourages the distribution of air show
tickets via school staff and parents. The attraction of selling these
tickets is that school councils can retain 10% of the ticket price collected.
The name attached to the information sheets is, "John D. Issenman, NCAS
Chairman - Authorized School Council Representative." The OCASC
mailing also included other related forms and documents for the war show
fundraising opportunity, such as: a "Letter of Agreement," a
"Notice to Families" and a "Ticket Sales Control Sheet."
It is disconcerting that our education system is involved in promoting this war
show, especially during this year which the UN International Year for a Culture
of Peace. It is also very disappointing that this promotion was done
through such backdoor tactics. OCASC did not discuss this fundraising
strategy before presenting it in their information package. The next OCASC
meeting is on September 21st after the show, so there will be no opportunity to
have this fundraising opportunity negated this year! It is important that
we try to make sure that this does not ever happen again!
Can you imagine a similar promotional effort for our Festival of Peace? It
would probably be considered too "controversial" and
"political." Meanwhile, a spectacle that uses the most destructive
weapons delivery systems ever made, including nuclear weapons bombers, as
sources of entertainment for children and youth is seen as a marvelous
fundraising opportunity. This is simply mind-boggling!
Please contact the following OCASC representatives to make clear your objections
to their participation in the promotion of the Ottawa war show:
As members of the public who have schools in your communities, your voices
should be heard. If you are a teacher or have children attending local
schools, then you have even more reason to express your concern with this
promotion of militarism which romanticizes and glorifies some of the world's
most advanced war technology.
Encourage OCASC to stop any further use of its mailings to promote the Ottawa
war show. Instead, they should use their channels of communication to
help....
Celebrate peace, life, creativity and the environment at a Festival
of Peace!