MINUTES: Friends of Egerton Ryerson Meeting March 29, 2026
Chair: Ron Stagg
Attending: Rick Ryerson, Rose Dyson, Oskar Hanson, Kate McCrone, Gord McNulty, Wendy Ryerson, Suzanne Hill, Peter Wyatt, Elizabeth Trott, Garry Tate, Lynn McDonald,
Regrets: Anne Venton, John Parker, Carolyn Edgar
Wendy Ryerson, a new Friend, was asked to introduce herself, a great, great granddaughter of Egerton Ryerson and a (retired) teacher, from a family of many teachers.
Minutes of the last meeting were approved, moved by Rose Dyson, seconded by Lynn McDonald
Treasurer’s Report: Oskar Hanson has replaced Carolyn Edgar as treasurer and co-signing officer with Rick Ryerson. We have approximately $1200 in our account.
Outreach Report: Rose Dyson reported on promotion for the March 25 event at which Patrice Dutil spoke. It included submission of an advertisement in the TMU student newspaper, The Eye-Opener. Initially it was approved but on the morning of March 18, the day it was to appear in the published weekly, Oskar Hanson who was handling the submission received a letter of rejection, signed by Negin Khodayari, Editor-in-Chief and Board of Directors President and Jasmine Makar, Production Editor, Board of Directors Masthead representative.
The reason: Student employees ” feel the Friends of Egerton Ryerson promote harmful messaging toward marginalized groups on campus. Although they said they feel the ad itself does not necessarily articulate this, they have concerns about the group as a whole.”
He responded with a letter sent by Rose Dyson expressing our surprise and disappointment, assuring them we had no such intention but merely wished to open the door to their readers who might be interested in learning more about Egerton Ryerson, one of the most influential thinkers and educational leaders in nineteenth century Canada. The letter concluded with an invitation to attend the talk by Dutil, “in the spirit of genuine truth and reconciliation”.
Days later we received a request for interviews as student journalist, Daniel Opasinis wished to co-author a story about us for The Eye-Opener. On Monday, March 23rd, Rose Dyson and Ron Stagg were both interviewed. Rose was told the story would appear in the April 8th issue.
On March 25th Patrice Dutil spoke at the Citadel on Egerton Ryerson as a Humanist, Ron Stagg responded. The Eye-Opener was represented by a photographer and 2 student journalists. Impressions of the 3 Eye-Opener attendees reactions to the event’s proceedings were mixed. Lynn has subsequently sent a letter to the 3 who came, on the historical context for the 1847 letter, adding to the explanation given by Patrice in response to the question asked by one of the student journalists. On the whole Patrice’s talk and Ron’s response were very well received both by those (23) who joined virtually and approximately 20 in live attendance. A video from the recorded event will be posted on the website soon.
Rose reported on the Rosedale United Church who advertised our last two events held at the Deer Park Library in September and November, 2025 in their weekly Church Bulletin and on their website. Both featured Dr. and Rev. Peter Wyatt, first as a speaker on ER and second as chair of readings from Indigenous authors. On March 10th Rose gave a talk, to a group focused on topical issues, on the United Church of Canada’s 100th anniversary which was in 2025 and ER’s role in the Church’s founding.
The play produced by Gord Henderson and directed by Betty Trott, performed at the Arts and letters Club twice in February, titled Egerton Ryerson on Trial is now available for viewing on our website. It was very well received on both occasions. Betty hopes to have it on continuous video display during the Club’s upcoming participation in Toronto’s annual open doors weekend event.