By: Police On Guard For Thee , [ 2 ]
Josh Alexander was suspended by St. Joseph’s Catholic High School in 2022 for speaking out against biological males being allowed to enter once-protected female-only spaces. He arranged a student protest to garner support, an effort which escalated the suspension into an “exclusion”, resulting in his arrest.
Josh’s religious beliefs dictate that only two genders exist; an opinion worthy of expression, given that he attends a school founded on these teachings. Meanwhile the school seems to have abandoned their foundational beliefs to embrace the ideology of ‘gender diversity’.
The board refused to disclose the reasons for dismissing the appeal, prompting Josh’s lawyer to file an application for judicial review with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice which in turn allowed the original court documents to be published as part of the new case.
The documents state Josh “continued to pose a safety risk,” adding “Beliefs, opinions, and views, no matter how genuinely held, cannot be used to justify treating any individual with disrespect or in any way that devalues them or makes them feel unsafe.”
In Josh’s words, “Offence is obviously defined by the offended. I expressed my religious beliefs in class, and it spiraled out of control. That doesn’t make me a bully. They express their beliefs, and I express mine. Mine obviously don’t fit the narrative.”
They have also submitted an application with the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal for “creed” discrimination.
Case law already supports our right to express beliefs, with one ruling defining freedom of religion as “the right to declare religious beliefs openly and without fear of hindrance or reprisal, and the right to manifest religious belief by worship and practice or by teaching and dissemination.”
Josh must be afforded the same rights as the individuals he is accused of ‘offending’; the Rights and Freedoms of Canadians hold no value, if not applied equally. We all have the right to speak openly, just as we have the right to be offended.
Should one person’s inability to cope with their distaste for another’s opinion, overrule that person’s right to have that opinion?
My Dundas Valley 