For me one of the most telling paragraphs was the one about Lionel feeling it was his best ticket "out of there". 
"Out of there" meaning leaving, the bulling, racism, limited possibilities etc. behind.
I'm an immigrant(back in '69), I really like Canada, but I don't get "it" when stuff like this happens. 
I read these articles and ask myself are "they"(generic term) stupid, too bureaucratic, or they just don't care?