The parents of internationally known Ontario high school student Josh Alexander have been suspended from their teaching posts in another board and placed under investigation over what appears to be their son’s outspoken views against his Catholic school board’s cave to the LGBTQ agenda.
“From the beginning, I understood the consequences my actions may have and I was willing to take that stand and face the consequences,” Alexander (above, center) told The Epoch Times, according to a report Thursday.
“But I must admit, I’m pretty disappointed to see that since they haven’t been able to get to me, they’re now attacking my family,” said the 11th-grade student who has been banned from the grounds of St. Joseph’s Catholic High School for most of this school year for organizing a protest against biological boys using the girls’ bathroom, an action Alexander’s attorney said the school referred to as “bullying.”
Now, Josh’s parents – Matt Alexander, a seventh-grade through eighth-grade teacher at the Renfrew County District School Board, and Nicole Alexander, a kindergarten teacher on the same board – have been placed on leave and told they are under investigation.
Nicole was reportedly informed she was suspended from her job for removing a pride flag someone had placed on the door of her kindergarten classroom.
“Somebody reported her and went to the superintendent who told her that in order to protect the students, they’d have to put her on leave and place her under investigation,” Josh told The Times. “They haven’t really given a reason for my dad’s investigation. There’s been no actual scenario that would have called for investigation.”
Josh is an organizer of Save Canada, a group that promotes Christian values and liberty.
His attorney, James Kitchen, has filed a complaint with the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal that alleges the school board has violated Josh’s right to religious freedom:
Josh is a “born-again”, Bible-believing Christian. Josh holds many sincere beliefs, informed by the Bible, regarding gender, sexuality, and modesty, and which are described in detail below. As an overview, these beliefs are that human beings are created by God as immutably male or female, persons cannot truly “change” their gender or sex from male to female or from female to male, and it is immoral, immodest, and contrary to Scripture for biological males to enter the sex-segregated private spaces of females, such as washrooms and change rooms. Josh believes he is called by the Lord Jesus Christ to proclaim the truth which includes telling those around him about the Lord’s design for gender and to openly oppose the School Board’s policy of permitting males to enter the girls’ washrooms. Josh believes he would commit a sin if he disregarded the Lord’s calling on his life and remained silent.
However, the Renfrew County Catholic District School Board has adopted the LGBTQ ideology agenda.
In its policy titled “Supporting Transgender and Gender Diverse Students,” the board appears to justify its positions with a 2017 quote from Pope Francis that states, “We can only build the future by standing together, including everyone.”
“Our practice is rooted in love based on the Gospel values and teachings of Jesus,” the board says, adding:
We reverence the dignity of the whole person including their gender identity and/or expression. As staff members in Catholic schools, it is our duty to create an environment of responsive pastoral care for all students and their families. Our goal is to ensure a positive sense of well-being so each of our students will be successful and happy in our schools.
The board has adopted the LGBTQ agenda that claims individuals must be affirmed in whatever gender they believe themselves to be at any given time in order for them to be “safe.”
“A safe, inclusive, and accepting school environment is necessary for our students to succeed,” the policy states, and adds, “There are many different gender identities.”
“Every person is able to define their own gender identity and/or expression,” the guidelines continue. “A person’s self-identification is the sole measure of gender. Each student is unique with different needs.”
As The Star News Network reported in late April, a former student at Cardinal Carter Catholic High School in Aurora, Ontario, was applauded when he delivered a passionate speech at a board meeting in which he urged the district to adhere to the teachings of the Catholic Church, to help all students, rather than cave to the LGBTQ agenda during the upcoming “pride month.”
Myles Vosylius, 20, drew applause from parents and other citizens at a York Catholic District School Board (YCDSB) after he shared his experience of spiritual conversion during his high school years while attending Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
“This hole within me was experiencing ‘Divine Therapy,’” he said. “This conversion led me on a path of truth and belief in Jesus Christ, the teachings of his church, and healing from my own sinfulness and the wounds that I was afflicted with – my parents’ divorce.”
Vosylius then explained how his conversion could be experienced by all students, even those with sexual orientation and gender issues, if the Catholic schools will promote their own teachings.
“My point is this: I am not the only one,” he asserted. “Many students suffer greatly. There are their own wounds within, whether that’s divorce, separation, addiction, mental or physical illness, or confusion and personal identity like gender and sex.”
“A pride flag, sticker, or any political and sexual ideological symbol cannot heal and bring hope into the lives of the YCDSB students,” he asserted nevertheless. “It will only arouse greater confusion, pain, and darkness.”
As Catholic News Agency (CNA) reported, in Ontario, Catholic schools are publicly funded, and local decisions are made by a Catholic school board rather than the Catholic diocese.
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Susan Berry, PhD, is national education editor at The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected]
Photo “Save Canada” by Rebel News.
