Heart Lake Secondary School, commonly known as HLSS or Heart Lake, is a public secondary school in Brampton, Ontario, Canada.[1] It is located at the corner of Conestoga Drive and Wexford Road. The school was founded in 1988 and is a part of the Peel District School Board. The school has 1150 students enrolled as of September 2019. The school is named after the nearby Heart Lake Conservation Area.
Heart Lake has two SHSM programs: Arts & Culture and Information & Communication technology,.
Murder of Eric Levack
In 2003, grade nine student Eric Levack, 14, was murdered in the wooded area behind the school during lunch break. The perpetrator was classmate Justin Morton, also 14.[2] Morton pleaded guilty to first degree murder and in 2004 was sentenced as an adult to life in prison,[3] with no eligibility of parole for seven years.[2][4] Morton was the first person in Canada charged with first degree murder under the newly enacted Youth Criminal Justice Act, which came into force on April 1, 2003, the day of the murder.[2][4][5] Morton anonymously appeared in the 2007 documentary film In the Shadow of Feeling, which focused on psychopathic personalities, and spoke about the murder.[6] A lilac tree, planted in memory of Levack, stands on the lawn in front of Heart Lake Secondary School.[5]
