Parents of Ontario Catholic Student Vocal About Gender Beliefs Suspended From Teaching Jobs

Josh Alexander, a grade-11 student at St. Joseph's High School in Renfew, Ont. (Yan Parisien)

Grade 11 student Josh Alexander of Renfrew, Ont., has received international attention for an ongoing struggle with his Catholic school board over his belief that God made only two genders. His parents, who are teachers in a separate board, have recently been put on leave and are under investigation. They suspect it’s because of the attention their son has gotten.

“From the beginning, I understood the consequences my actions may have and I was willing to take that stand and face the consequences,” Alexander told The Epoch Times. “But I must admit, I’m pretty disappointed to see that since they haven’t been able to get to me, they’re now attacking my family.”

Alexander was first suspended by St. Joseph’s Catholic High School in November when he organized a protest against transgender students using the girls’ washroom. When the suspension ended, he was still banned from school grounds for the rest of the year for saying he would continue to express his belief. The school board has said his actions amount to “bullying” transgender students.

Parents Under Investigation

His father, Matt Alexander, is a grade 7/8 teacher at the Renfrew County District School Board. His mother, Nicole Alexander, is a kindergarten teacher in the same board.

His mother received notice on May 8 that she was to be put on leave and that she is under investigation. The reason she was given, Alexander said, is that she had removed a pride flag someone else had put on the door of her kindergarten classroom.

“Somebody reported her and went to the superintendent who told her that in order to protect the students, they'd have to put her on leave and place her under investigation,” Alexander said.

His father had received notice about two weeks prior. “They haven’t really given a reason for my dad’s investigation,” Alexander said. “There’s been no actual scenario that would have called for investigation.”

The Renfrew board did not reply to an Epoch Times inquiry regarding Alexander’s parents or the reasons they are being investigated.

‘It’s No Secret That They’re My Parents’

Alexander has participated in events nationwide as part of a group he helps run, called Save Canada. The group describes itself as a Christian youth organization that stands for Christian values and liberty. Alexander has received media attention nationwide and abroad, so he certainly has been the talk of his hometown.

“Renfrew County’s not a big area. Everybody knows everybody and there’s obviously a lot of talk about me,” Alexander said. “It’s no secret that they’re my parents.”

Alexander says he has a good relationship with his parents and seeks advice from them, but it has been clear for some time that he is to make his own decisions regarding his activism. His lawyer, James Kitchen, previously told The Epoch Times, “He runs his own life. And that’s actually by design, because that’s how his parents raised him to be.”

Alexander’s Beliefs

Kitchen has filed a complaint with the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal on behalf of Alexander alleging the school board is guilty of religious discrimination. The complaint says Alexander’s faith “requires him to reject any affirmation which in any way contributes to the destruction of himself or any other human being; to actively speak truth and reject all falsehoods; and to protect vulnerable women with whom he comes into contact.”

It further states that Alexander cannot speak the “falsehood that humans can supplant God’s design and rule by changing from one gender to another.  ... Josh believes God’s design for gender is good.”

Guidelines published by the Renfrew County Catholic District School Board, on the other hand, say that “every person is able to define their own gender identity and/or expression. A person’s self-identification is the sole measure of gender.”

Sophie Smith-Doré, co-founder of Arnprior Pride and mother of one of the transgender students at the school, told The Epoch Times in a written message in January, “Trans folks and their loved ones (like most marginalized folks) are constantly doing this emotional work and it’s exhausting. We bear the burden of trying to protect our gender-diverse kids.”

She said Alexander and the adults who have rallied behind him belong to the “far-right” and are “scrambling for an agenda. … It doesn’t appear to matter to them that their casualties are children.”

Alexander told The Epoch Times in December, “I do have a little bit of sympathy” for the transgender students. “I don’t think it’s fair that they are growing up with parents who encourage this behaviour.” He says schools have also encouraged gender dysphoria.

He is organizing a nationwide walk-out on May 17, encouraging students to participate in protest of biological males using female restrooms and change rooms.