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RICHELIEU, Quebec (LifeSiteNews) — A Quebec elementary school has demanded that students use gender neutral pronouns and titles when referring to a “non-binary” teacher at the school.
On August 30, École de Richelieu principal Christine Derom told parents of fifth and sixth graders that one of their childrens’ teachers identified as “non-binary” and must be referred to as “Mx. Martine Laviolette.”
“Mx is pronounced ‘Mix’ and is the gender-neutral equivalent of ‘madame’ and ‘monsieur’ and is used among other things to refer to non-binary people (whose gender identity lies outside the male/female binary system) and people who simply prefer not to be addressed by their gender,” Derom’s letter said.
Mx (Mix) Martine Laviolette
Students returning to this Quebec school will have to refer to one of their teachers as “Mix” (Mx) instead of Madame or Monsieur. pic.twitter.com/3BxUL2Jxm9
— Dacey Media (@chrisdacey) August 30, 2023
The principal added that she would further explain Laviolette’s gender and naming preference to students on the first day of school, along with a “discussion about openness, differences, gender names, etc.”
Derome explained that “Mx Martine invites us to use the feminine to talk about her” since the French gender neutral pronoun “iel” can be difficult to use.
“It will be her pleasure to guide us through this learning process in a respectful and inclusive way,” Derome continued.
The letter was leaked onto social media by independent media outlet Dacey Media and caused strong backlash from Canadians outraged that children are expected to conform to an adult’s view of their “gender identity.”
According to mainstream media outlet La Presse, Marie-Claude Huberdeau, general director of the Centre de services scolaires (CSS) des Hautes-Rivières, alleged the comments about Laviolette were “of a violent, hateful, defamatory and intolerant nature in a way I’ve rarely seen.”
Similarly, the Richelieu-Saint-Laurent police told the Quebec media outlet they had launched an investigation into comments made online about the teacher.
“One or more parents shared the letter on social networks and there was a snowball effect,” said Sgt. Jean-Luc Tremblay. “In some cases, there was apparent aggression [in the comments], perhaps even of a criminal nature.”
However, La Presse failed to give examples of the comments and to disclose if the comments were directed against Laviolette or forcing children to use gender neutral pronouns.
Quebec’s education minister Bernard Drainville responded to the incident, saying, “Let’s calm down now. There’s no reason to start insulting, intimidating and threatening anyone.”
However, Drainville did not seem to support forcing children to use gender neutral pronouns, revealing that he was “a little taken aback” when he first heard about the incident.
“Do we need to think about a way of naming or calling a teacher or a member of the school staff who doesn’t consider themselves Mr. or Mrs.?” he questioned. “Of course, we need to think about that. And I’m going to think about it, but I don’t have an immediate answer for you on that.”
Similarly, Parti Quebecois leader Paul St. Pierre Plamondon declared that he would never allow himself to be forced to use gender neutral language.
“No one is going to force me to call someone else ‘mx’. I’ve never heard of ‘mx’. I think that the French language, social conventions cannot be imposed by one person on everyone, all the time,” he stated.
“Suppose my gender identity wants me to be called Y or W, I can’t impose it on others,” Plamondon added.
Finally, Conservative Party of Quebec leader Eric Duhaime, who himself identifies as a homosexual, condemned the teacher’s demands as “wokism.”
“Elementary school children will have ‘inclusive writing’ explained to them,” he said. “Can’t the teacher just be called Martine, rather than Mx. Martine? Wokism is entering daycares and schools with full force. The CAQ is doing absolutely nothing to bring back common sense.”
Send an urgent message to Canadian legislators and courts telling them to uphold parental rights.