In a sickening update that should shake the conscience of every defender of human rights and Constitutional rights in Canada, Ontario police arrest Josh Alexander, who protested boys in girls’ bathrooms, for attending class.
I have been following this story from the beginning. See HERE and HERE for background. To sum it up: 16-year-old Ontario resident 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. 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 February 1:
Alexander’s lawyer, James Kitchen, the chief litigator for Liberty Coalition Canada (LCC), told LifeSiteNews today 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.
I previously wrote to the Diocese of Pembroke, of which Josh’s school, St. Joseph’s Catholic High School, and the Renfrew County Catholic District are a part. See the full correspondence HERE. Below is an excerpt from that correspondence, where you’ll notice immediately how institutions are able to hide (unintentionally or not) behind red tape, even when in violation of their own stated values.
On Jan 16, 2023, at 8:13 PM,
Vicar General / Vicaire général <[email protected]> wrote:Dear Ms. Williams,
Thank you very much for your email, to which Bishop Desrochers has asked me to reply on his behalf.
The Renfrew County District Catholic School Board is a separate corporation from the Diocese of Pembroke, and it is under the direction of a Board of Trustees. The diocese does not have jurisdiction over the internal life of the Board, nor does the Bishop have the authority to intervene in internal matters. He can, however, exercise moral suasion, and he is in regular contact with the Board’s leadership.
I thank you again for writing.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Fr. Michael Smith
Vicar General
and more….
On Jan 17, 2023, at 6:31 PM,
Vicar General / Vicaire général <[email protected]> wrote:Thank you for your reply, Ms. Williams.
I am not party to Bishop Desrochers’ conversations with the Board’s leadership, but it can safely be said that the Bishop can be trusted to uphold Catholic teaching in a manner that is both clear and sensitive to others, especially the vulnerable.
In Christ,
Fr. Michael Smith
From all appearances, the influence of Bishop Desrochers is questionable in a hierarchy that also appears to be corrupted at the highest levels and will only change with public opposition. Without any pushback, Canadians will lose more of their rights. So far, the Catholic faith, to all appearances, is of no importance at Josh’s school or within the diocese. Ethically, therefore, why is it even being funded by taxpayers as a Separate School system, categorized as religious? The news broke this month that the Ontario government faces a legal challenge for funding Catholic schools; St. Joseph’s Catholic High School and the Renfrew District School Board makes the challenge easy.
Far too many people’s rights are being trampled unconstitutionally in the rush to adhere to the woke ideology. In Josh’s case, he is a whipping boy for the intolerant in a country that boasts of its “tolerance” and “diversity.” His persecution is in a Catholic school which is apparently operating without any concern for the Catholic faith that the school professes to uphold.
St. Joseph’s Catholic School boasts about its faith and its “atmosphere of trust” on its website:
After the appalling suspension of Josh until the end of the year, Josh showed up to class, in accordance with his rights and in defiance of the woke gods of his Catholic school. The result: the school called in police to arrest him, fascist style. Josh tweeted:
I have just been arrested and charged at my Catholic highschool for attending class after being excluded for indicating my intent to adhere to my religious beliefs. pic.twitter.com/vTkaSoTnFp
— Josh Alexander (@officialJosh_A) February 6, 2023
The cowards tried to hide the impact of the school’s actions:
“The entire class was dismissed while the staff handled my situation,” the boy continued. “Shortly after, Ontario Provincial Police arrived and asked me to leave. Once again, I respectfully declined and they arrested me.”
Josh is a youngster who is bearing the burden for the rights of all believers, a burden that adults should be carrying. His attorney, James Kitchen, chief litigator for Liberty Coalition Canada (LCC), “told LifeSiteNews that Alexander’s decision to go back to school today was ‘an intelligent choice of a young man who knows what he is doing.’”
In a society that claims to abhor bullying, it is criminal that institutional bullying is now at play in the case of Josh and in full violation of Canada’s constitution.
