Catholic Student Suspended – Then Arrested – For ‘Opposing Gender Ideology’
by
His lawyer now warns that religious freedom is “essentially dead” under the Trudeau government.
In a sickening update in February — that should shake the conscience of every defender of human rights and freedoms in Canada — police in Ontario arrested 16-year-old Josh Alexander for attending class at his Catholic school, after he was suspended for protesting the allowance of males who identify as females to use girls’ bathrooms. I have been following the developments of this story from the beginning. See HERE and HERE for background. Thankfully, focus on the case isn’t going away, but is attracting increasing media attention across Canada, the U.S., and the UK.
To sum it up: Ontario student Josh Alexander was penalized with a 20-day suspension last year by his Catholic school “after he organized a walkout in protest of male students being permitted into the girls’ washroom.” In an interview around the time of Alexander’s initial suspension, the teen told LifeSiteNews that he believes, in accordance with Catholic teaching and the Bible, that there are only two sexes. Under the freedom of religion, Alexander has the guaranteed right to affirm this belief.
Or so we thought.
Liberty Coalition Canada (LCC) took up Josh’s case and sent a “Notice of Intention to Appeal Suspension” to Mary-Lise Rowat, Superintendent of Educational Services at Renfrew County Catholic District School Board. But Josh’s situation deteriorated, and fast. LifeSite news wrote in an update in February:
Alexander’s lawyer, James Kitchen, the chief litigator for Liberty Coalition Canada (LCC), told LifeSiteNews that Renfrew County Catholic District School Board won’t “permit him (Alexander) to attend school for the rest of the year because, according to them, Josh’s beliefs constitute ‘bullying of trans students.’”
What nonsense. Mind you, the school is bullying Josh over his religious rights and freedoms, while doing severe damage to what the school proclaims about honoring Catholic teachings.