Canadians: Tell Ontario legislature to stop power-grab by chief electoral officer
RENFREW, Ontario (LifeSiteNews) — The Renfrew County Catholic District School Board (RCCDSB) is now demanding tens of thousands of dollars from Josh Alexander, a Canadian high school student who was suspended in 2022 for speaking out against transgender ideology.
In a November 28 post, Alexander revealed that the RCCDSB is coming after him for nearly $47,000 after the Ontario Divisional Court dismissed his appeal to overturn the board’s decision to suspend him for upholding Biblical beliefs on gender issues.
“The Renfrew County Catholic District School Board is now coming after Josh for tens of thousands of dollars,” Alexander posted on X, quoting a GiveSendGo campaign set up to cover his legal fees.
“Arresting, suspending, excluding, defaming, failing, and permanently removing Josh was not enough. This will leave Josh bankrupt at 18 years old,” he quoted.
“The Renfrew County Catholic District School Board is now coming after Josh for tens of thousands of dollars. Arresting, suspending, excluding, defaming, failing, and permanently removing Josh was not enough. This will leave Josh bankrupt at 18 years old.
In order to continue…— Josh Alexander (@officialJosh_A) November 28, 2024
“My school board, @rccdsb, argues that I have the right to believe what I want, but the second that I express that opinion, it is acceptable to subject me to ridicule, faithism, suspension, exclusion, arrests, charges, a permanent education ban, and now an invoice for almost $47k,” Alexander wrote in a follow-up post on December 4.
“If they can do it to me, they can do it to you and your children,” Alexander warned.
Thank you to everyone who has donated, so far, to further the cause of justice.
This case is precedent setting. The courts have been challenged with the task of determining whether students such as myself have the right to both believe and simultaneously express counter cultural… pic.twitter.com/gIawDaNh0W
— Josh Alexander (@officialJosh_A) December 4, 2024
In 2022, Alexander was indefinitely suspended from St. Joseph’s Catholic School in Renfrew, Ontario, by the RCCDSB after he spoke out against LGBT ideology in his school, particularly against male students being allowed to enter female bathrooms.
In early 2023, he was issued a trespass notice by his principal and barred from attending class for the rest of the school year “all because he expressed his Christian beliefs, during class debates and on social media, that there are only two genders, that students cannot switch between genders, and that male students should not be permitted into girls’ washrooms,” according to Liberty Coalition Canada.
The school board based their decision, which was previously kept secret, on the claim that Alexander’s return to the classroom would be allegedly disruptive to other students. According to Liberty Coalition Canada lawyer James Kitchen, the board also repeatedly claimed that Alexander was “a threat to other students” due to his Christian beliefs.
While Alexander attempted to appeal the decision, his request was dismissed over claims that he purportedly “continued to pose a safety risk.”
“While individuals are entitled to their religious beliefs, opinions and views, what they are not entitled to do is act in the manner that disrespects, discriminates, insults, denigrates, harasses, bullies or otherwise creates an unsafe environment for any person in the school,” the school board noted in its written decision.
The GiveSendGo campaign will also help fund Josh’s ongoing legal battle against the RCCDSB. Unfortunately, Alexander’s appeal in the Ontario Divisional Court was dismissed after two Liberal-appointed justices ruled against him.
However, the third justice, Justice James Ramsay, gave partial dissent in Alexander’s favour, allowing Alexander to continue is appeal.
“I do not agree that the applicant’s conduct before December 22, 2022 met the definition of ‘bullying,'” Ramsay wrote. “It was not reasonable to conclude that it occurred ‘in a context where there is a real or perceived power imbalance between the pupil and the individual.'”
“The applicant was in a similar position to the [self-professed] transgendered students,” he explained. “He was invited to give his views in math class, and when he did he was called a transphobe, a homophobe and so on.”
“Finally, I would also have set aside the Committee’s finding of bias as unreasonable. It was beyond question on the evidence that the applicant’s views were the product of sincerely held beliefs in a recognized religion,” Ramsay continued. “I would have quashed the suspension.”
As a result of Ramsay’s comments, Alexander can continue his fight in the Ontario Divisional Court as well as another appeal in the Human Rights Tribunal. To support Alexander in his legal battles, please click here.
Canadians: Tell Ontario legislature to stop power-grab by chief electoral officer