Teacher who dressed in ‘black face’ may get job back after ‘rehabilitation’

A teacher in Canada may be getting his job back, but not without reprogramming from his woke overlords.

Gorian Surlan, a former teacher at Parkdale Collegiate in Toronto, found himself in hot water after hastily putting together a costume for Halloween. Surlan said he had zombies on his mind when he enlisted his daughter’s help and put black makeup on his face under the mask he was reportedly mandated to wear in compliance with COVID-19 rules in 2021.

That was a big no-no, according to the school, which at the time had sent teachers rules about costumes and “the harm resulting from cultural appropriation,” the Daily Mail reported.

Surlan reportedly didn’t read the email and ended up upsetting many students instead.

Teacher fired for coming to school in blackface should get his job back and be paid lost wages, arbitrator rules https://t.co/oXURzTwPdd

— Daily Mail (@DailyMail) August 20, 2025

One student sent a picture of Surlan to their parents and described the class as “shocked and upset,” and “described the class as being in disbelief that their business teacher… would decide to wear blackface in school,” the Daily Mail reported.

After several more complaints, the principal met with Surlan, reportedly grilling him on disgraced ex-Canadian PM Justin Trudeau’s blackface scandal and explaining his look was upsetting students. Surlan reportedly said he was aware of the Trudeau incident, but did not connect it with his costume, which was meant to be a zombie. The business teacher reportedly apologized, washed his face, and returned to the classroom.

Here’s another blackface appearance by Trudeau while he was a ‘teacher’. No media has ever asked him about it.

Same afro wig he had in high school. https://t.co/EA13nhnIOS pic.twitter.com/4aBsJen3Q4

— Dean Skoreyko (@bcbluecon) May 13, 2023

But that wasn’t good enough, not by a long shot.

An investigation sparked by the school board dug into the matter and concluded that Surlan’s innocent intentions were irrelevant, and that “the impact on people, their feelings, their experiences are what is relevant.”

Surlan, who reportedly had no other infractions on his record, subsequently had his teaching certificate pulled in 2023 after he pleaded guilty to misconduct.

Enter arbitrator Norm Jesin, who is fighting for Surlan to get this job back and argued that he’s “capable of rehabilitation.”

Good grief!

Jesin agreed Surlan’s behavior “may be described as a racist incident” even though he “was not familiar with the harm generally caused by appearing in blackface,” the Daily Mail reported.

“I appreciate that the reaction of the student body as well as the community at large to the grievor’s costume must properly be considered,” Jesin continued.

“But surely these constituents, with the passage of time, can be asked to accept that the grievor has acknowledged not only his mistake, but the pain that his mistake has caused. In my view, this is an appropriate case for reinstatement.”

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