TORONTO (LifeSiteNews) — The Ontario Divisional Court has heard the appeal of Josh Alexander, a Canadian high school student who was suspended from his Catholic school in 2022 for speaking out against transgender ideology.
During a November 13 session of the Divisional Court of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Liberty Coalition Canada lawyer James Kitchen represented now 18-year-old Josh Alexander in his appeal to overturn the Renfrew County Catholic District School Board (RCCDSB) decision to suspend him for upholding Biblical beliefs on gender issues.
“Nobody was in doubt about what Josh believed, which is not surprising, giving St. Joseph’s is a Catholic high school and many of Josh’s beliefs do align with traditional or official Catholic beliefs,” Kitchen began.
“Josh affirms that self-conceptions male or female should be defined by God’s holy purposes in creation and redemption as revealed in scripture,” he continued. “He denies that adopting a transgender self-conception is consistent with God’s holy purposes in creation.”
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 for speaking out 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 disruptive to other students. According to Kitchen, the board also repeatedly claimed that Alexander was “a threat to other students.”
While Alexander attempted to appeal the decision, his request was dismissed over claims that he “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.
RCCDSB refused to view Alexander’s case as a violation of human rights
However, Kitchen argued that Alexander’s right to voice his religious beliefs are protected by human rights, adding that “human rights must inform the school board.”
Kitchen pointed out that the school board failed to analyze Alexander’s case as a human rights violation instead considering it “bullying.” In response, RCCDSB council Jennifer Birrell claimed that a “court can’t expect a decision maker to respond to every argument or every possible analysis.”
He argued that the RCCDSB has an “obligation to protect people with a religious belief” not only LGBT students. Kitchen further explained that the school created a double standard, saying, ” “The concern about safety was, I think, inconsistently applied throughout these proceedings and generally by the school board.”
“There’s a focus on the safety for transgender students, even though they were never actually unsafe in any sort of objective sense,” he stated. “But there is an objective concern about boys and the girls’ washrooms.”
Additionally, Kitchen pointed out that the school board “ignored” the news that a ‘transgender’ student was considering bringing a weapon to school to potentially use against Alexander. Students also called Alexander slurs such as “homophobe,” “transphobe” and “racist.”
During her argument, Birarll referenced a recent Court of Appeals of Ontario decision to dismiss Trustee Mike Del Grande’s lawsuit against the Toronto Catholic District School Board for finding him guilty of “misconduct” for speaking against a motion to add Transgender Ideology to the board’s Code of Conduct policy.
Birarll compared Alexander’s Biblical comments with Del Grande’s defense of Catholic teaching to a Catholic school board that had embraced the LGBT ideology.
Alexander has continued his fight against the nominally Catholic school, submitting an application to the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal (HRTO), in which he has claimed that his “creed” has been discriminated against by the school board, two teachers, and the school principal.
After being kicked out of school, he was arrested for protesting against LGBT ideology multiple times and still travels across Canada to protest against the LGBT agenda.
Alexander’s activism has made him a familiar face in the pro-family and freedom movement, with many recognizing him by his “Save Canada” hat.