On October 8, 2025 Minister of Education, Paul Calandra made a statement that suggested that playing the national anthem in the Arabic language caused harm and made people unsafe.

The day before, on October 7, the students at Earl Haig Secondary School played the national anthem in the Arabic language. The students, at their own initiative, regularly play the morning anthem in various languages, the languages and dates chosen at random.

In response to the anthem being played in Arabic, Minister Calandra characterized it as inappropriate on that particular date of October 7, juxtaposing it with "the worst terrorist attack perpetrated against the Jewish people" as though to say that Arabic and by extension Arabs are inherently offensive, violent or hateful towards Jewish people. The principal of Earl Haig subsequently issued an "apology" for the "harm" caused to the school community by the Arabic language.

This is yet another example of systemic anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian racism that must be addressed.

Send a letter to stand up for the students of Earl Haig Secondary School now!

(Don't forget to sign your name at the bottom of the letter).