Alex Chumak
Encyclopedia
Alexander Chumak is a former politician in Toronto
, Ontario
, Canada
. He served on the Toronto Public School Board from 1974 to 1994, and later ran for a position on city council. He is a probation officer and social worker in private life.
, and served until he left the board to run for city council twenty years later.
Chumak chaired a board committee on absenteeism in the 1970s, and suggested bringing back a truant officer
for the city. He argued that student absence rates were as high as 30%, although others questioned this figure. Chumak presented a similar argument in 1985, after a provincial law on truancy was overturned.
Religion and homosexuality
Chumak was a prominent social conservative
on the school board. He advocated reinstating the Lord's Prayer
to Toronto schools in 1979, and also called for the return of religious instruction and a return to corporal punishment
in the same year.
Chumak was a vocal opponent of a 1980 board resolution which created a subcommittee to investigate forming links with Toronto's homosexual committee. Chumak argued that homosexuality was contrary to Judeo-Christian
values, and was quoted as saying "The gay and lesbian association is attempting to promote a lifestyle which is unacceptable to the majority of people. Homosexuals should not be brought into schools." He argued that board's decision to create the liaison committee "breaches and violates what education stands for", adding "What is happening in our schools is alcohol today, gays and lesbians next year and perhaps brothels" in the future. He also proposed to lead a one-day school boycott, if the board carried out its plans. Chumak's comments were widely criticized. The board did not overturn its resolution, although the committee was later disbanded.
In 1986, Chumak voted against a motion to prohibit discrimination against homosexuals in Toronto schools. He criticized the boards's decision to provide students with information about sexual orientation, arguing that some parents would take their students out of the public system in protest. Chumak said, "People are going to hear that the board is entertaining the teaching of homosexuality". In 1992, he moved a motion for the school board to defer discussions of sexual orientation in the high school curriculum for another two years.
Bilingualism and multiculturalism
Chumak was a strong supporter of bilingualism and multiculturalism
programs. He supported increased programs for immigrants, and recommended in 1979 that the school board carry out its promise to provide a school for Toronto's French-language community. The following year, he endorsed the creation of distinct schools for Ukrainian
and Armenia
n minority groups. Some critics argued that the latter measure would fragment the school system, although Chumak argued that any parents could choose to send their children to the new schools.
Chumak chaired the Toronto School Board's Race Relations and Multicultural Relations Committee during the early 1980s, and was among the most prominent supporters of a plan to integrate languages other than English and French into the education system. In 1988, he suggested that Toronto consider financial incentives for French-language teachers to move to the city.
Chumak played a significant role in having Ukrainian-language instruction included in the Toronto school curriculum (for credit), and prepared a teaching unit on the Holodomor
. In 1994, he helped establish a liaison between Toronto and the Ukrainian ministry of education. Chumak was himself active with the Ukrainian National Congress, and was involved in immigration issues.
1991 Crime Committee
In 1991, Chumak was appointed by Toronto City Council to head a committee examining the city's crime rates. He indicated that special emphasis would be placed on violence in schools. The committee held several public meetings throughout the city, and submitted a report late in the year. The report made forty-three recommendations, including increased penalties for drug dealers, a city-wide committee on school safety, and the creation of a crime hotline. In releasing the report, Chumak noted that Toronto was still safer than major American cities such as New York
and Los Angeles
.
to seek election to Toronto City Council. He campaigned on a "law and order" platform, seeking to rid his ward of drugs and prostitution. He also promised to target pollution. During the campaign, a Toronto Sun
columnist suggested that he tried to bribe rival candidate Myron Tymochko to leave the contest. Chumak denied that he made any such offer, and said that his former campaign manager Walter Melnyk offered Tymochko a position on the Toronto Board of Health in return for dropping out. Chumak dropped Melnyk (who denied any wrongdoing) from his campaign, and suggested that Tymochko was conducting a smear campaign
against him. On election day, Chumak was defeated by David Hutcheon
.
He later campaigned for a seat on the amalgamated Toronto City Council in 1997
, but was again defeated. Chumak continued to work as a probation officer after leaving politics.
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. He served on the Toronto Public School Board from 1974 to 1994, and later ran for a position on city council. He is a probation officer and social worker in private life.
School trustee
Chumak was first elected to the Toronto Public School Board in the 1974 municipal electionToronto municipal election, 1974
The 1974 Toronto municipal election was held on December 2, 1974 in Metropolitan Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Mayors, controllers, city councillors and school board trustees were elected in the municipalities of Toronto, York, East York, North York, Etobicoke and Scarborough.David Crombie was...
, and served until he left the board to run for city council twenty years later.
Policy views
TruancyChumak chaired a board committee on absenteeism in the 1970s, and suggested bringing back a truant officer
Truancy
Truancy is any intentional unauthorized absence from compulsory schooling. The term typically describes absences caused by students of their own free will, and usually does not refer to legitimate "excused" absences, such as ones related to medical conditions...
for the city. He argued that student absence rates were as high as 30%, although others questioned this figure. Chumak presented a similar argument in 1985, after a provincial law on truancy was overturned.
Religion and homosexuality
Chumak was a prominent social conservative
Social conservatism
Social Conservatism is primarily a political, and usually morally influenced, ideology that focuses on the preservation of what are seen as traditional values. Social conservatism is a form of authoritarianism often associated with the position that the federal government should have a greater role...
on the school board. He advocated reinstating the Lord's Prayer
Lord's Prayer
The Lord's Prayer is a central prayer in Christianity. In the New Testament of the Christian Bible, it appears in two forms: in the Gospel of Matthew as part of the discourse on ostentation in the Sermon on the Mount, and in the Gospel of Luke, which records Jesus being approached by "one of his...
to Toronto schools in 1979, and also called for the return of religious instruction and a return to corporal punishment
Corporal punishment
Corporal punishment is a form of physical punishment that involves the deliberate infliction of pain as retribution for an offence, or for the purpose of disciplining or reforming a wrongdoer, or to deter attitudes or behaviour deemed unacceptable...
in the same year.
Chumak was a vocal opponent of a 1980 board resolution which created a subcommittee to investigate forming links with Toronto's homosexual committee. Chumak argued that homosexuality was contrary to Judeo-Christian
Judeo-Christian
Judeo-Christian is a term used in the United States since the 1940s to refer to standards of ethics said to be held in common by Judaism and Christianity, for example the Ten Commandments...
values, and was quoted as saying "The gay and lesbian association is attempting to promote a lifestyle which is unacceptable to the majority of people. Homosexuals should not be brought into schools." He argued that board's decision to create the liaison committee "breaches and violates what education stands for", adding "What is happening in our schools is alcohol today, gays and lesbians next year and perhaps brothels" in the future. He also proposed to lead a one-day school boycott, if the board carried out its plans. Chumak's comments were widely criticized. The board did not overturn its resolution, although the committee was later disbanded.
In 1986, Chumak voted against a motion to prohibit discrimination against homosexuals in Toronto schools. He criticized the boards's decision to provide students with information about sexual orientation, arguing that some parents would take their students out of the public system in protest. Chumak said, "People are going to hear that the board is entertaining the teaching of homosexuality". In 1992, he moved a motion for the school board to defer discussions of sexual orientation in the high school curriculum for another two years.
Bilingualism and multiculturalism
Chumak was a strong supporter of bilingualism and multiculturalism
Multiculturalism
Multiculturalism is the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g...
programs. He supported increased programs for immigrants, and recommended in 1979 that the school board carry out its promise to provide a school for Toronto's French-language community. The following year, he endorsed the creation of distinct schools for Ukrainian
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
and Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
n minority groups. Some critics argued that the latter measure would fragment the school system, although Chumak argued that any parents could choose to send their children to the new schools.
Chumak chaired the Toronto School Board's Race Relations and Multicultural Relations Committee during the early 1980s, and was among the most prominent supporters of a plan to integrate languages other than English and French into the education system. In 1988, he suggested that Toronto consider financial incentives for French-language teachers to move to the city.
Chumak played a significant role in having Ukrainian-language instruction included in the Toronto school curriculum (for credit), and prepared a teaching unit on the Holodomor
Holodomor
The Holodomor was a man-made famine in the Ukrainian SSR between 1932 and 1933. During the famine, which is also known as the "terror-famine in Ukraine" and "famine-genocide in Ukraine", millions of Ukrainians died of starvation in a peacetime catastrophe unprecedented in the history of...
. In 1994, he helped establish a liaison between Toronto and the Ukrainian ministry of education. Chumak was himself active with the Ukrainian National Congress, and was involved in immigration issues.
1991 Crime Committee
In 1991, Chumak was appointed by Toronto City Council to head a committee examining the city's crime rates. He indicated that special emphasis would be placed on violence in schools. The committee held several public meetings throughout the city, and submitted a report late in the year. The report made forty-three recommendations, including increased penalties for drug dealers, a city-wide committee on school safety, and the creation of a crime hotline. In releasing the report, Chumak noted that Toronto was still safer than major American cities such as New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
Campaigns for City Council
Chumak retired from the school board in 1994Toronto municipal election, 1994
The 1994 Toronto municipal election was held in November 1994 to elect councillors in Metropolitan Toronto, Canada, and mayors, councillors and school trustees in Toronto, York, East York, North York, Scarborough and Etobicoke....
to seek election to Toronto City Council. He campaigned on a "law and order" platform, seeking to rid his ward of drugs and prostitution. He also promised to target pollution. During the campaign, a Toronto Sun
Toronto Sun
The Toronto Sun is an English-language daily tabloid newspaper published in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is known for its daily Sunshine Girl feature and for what it sees as a populist conservative editorial stance.-History:...
columnist suggested that he tried to bribe rival candidate Myron Tymochko to leave the contest. Chumak denied that he made any such offer, and said that his former campaign manager Walter Melnyk offered Tymochko a position on the Toronto Board of Health in return for dropping out. Chumak dropped Melnyk (who denied any wrongdoing) from his campaign, and suggested that Tymochko was conducting a smear campaign
Smear campaign
A smear campaign, smear tactic or simply smear is a metaphor for activity that can harm an individual or group's reputation by conflation with a stigmatized group...
against him. On election day, Chumak was defeated by David Hutcheon
David Hutcheon
David Hutcheon is a former municipal politician in Toronto, Ontario.Hutcheon has an honours Bachelor of Arts Degree in History from Rutgers University and a Master's degree in public administration from the University of Western Ontario. He is a Henry Rutgers Scholar and is a recipient of the...
.
He later campaigned for a seat on the amalgamated Toronto City Council in 1997
Toronto municipal election, 1997
The 1997 Toronto municipal election was the first election held for offices in the amalgamated "megacity" of Toronto, Canada. The elections were administered by the old City of Toronto and its five suburbs within Metropolitan Toronto...
, but was again defeated. Chumak continued to work as a probation officer after leaving politics.