Sask. Mom Threatens Legal Action Over Biologically Male Trans Student Using Girls’ School Washroom

Signage denoting a females only bathroom can be seen at Melbourne Airport, Australia, on Oct. 31, 2023. Susan Mortimer/The Epoch Times

A Saskatchewan mom is threatening to pursue legal action if the school district overseeing Lampman School in the southeastern part of the province doesn’t address concerns about a biologically male transgender student using the girls’ washroom.

Lawyers funded by the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) have sent a letter to the South East Cornerstone Public School Division on behalf of mom Tawney Johnson, who is calling on the board to restrict girls’ school washrooms to biological females to protect the privacy and safety of female students.

The kindergarten to Grade 12 school in the town of Lampman currently allows a 17-year-old biologically male transgender student to use the girls’ multi-stall washroom at the school, the letter says, noting that the decision has left many female students feeling “unsafe, uncomfortable, and reluctant” to use school washroom facilities.

Attached to the letter was a document of impact statements from girls ranging in age from nine to 18.

The nine-year-old said she was afraid of a biological male looking through the cracks of the bathroom stalls while a 13-year-old said she “was always told that school is a safe space but with this I don’t think it is anymore.”

Many of the students said they no longer use the washroom and feel like they need to leave school grounds to find a bathroom.

“All students deserve to feel secure when using bathrooms and other shared spaces, without fear of being watched or threatened,” a 16-year-old student said.

The letter also contains statements from parents and Johnson said many more have expressed concern.

“I am aware that most parents that have voiced their disapproval of the current situation involving the privacy and safety of their female children have all received a blanket response from the school division that there is nothing that can be done,” Johnson said in a JCCF press release.

The Epoch Times contacted both the school’s principal and the school board for comment but did not receive a response. Neither the school nor the board had publicly addressed the allegations or the legal demand letter by the time of publication.

Letter Demands

The letter penned by constitutional lawyer Allison Pejovic argued that Saskatchewan’s Human Rights Code allows schools to uphold sex-segregated restrooms under the premise of “public decency,” and said the school division bears a legal responsibility to safeguard the privacy, dignity, and security of female students.

Failing to do so, the letter said, subjects female students to psychological distress, physical danger stemming from a fear-induced inability to access the restroom, invasions of privacy, and discriminatory treatment. The correspondence further argues that catering to the needs of a single transgender student is disproportionate to the infringement on the Charter rights of the school’s female students.

“Female students’ rights do not disappear simply because a biological male transgender student wants to use the girls’ washroom,” the letter said. “Ignoring girls’ feelings and rights is causing immense harm. You have an obligation to provide a safe environment for your female students.”

Johnson has also written a letter to Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, Minister of Education Everett Hindley, Minister of Justice Tim McLeod, and other provincial officials to ask for help. The Epoch Times was not able to confirm the government had received the letter by the time of publication.