Juno News - Lecce RUNS AWAY as parents slam gender ideology in Ontario schools

00:00:00.000 I just want to ask about Bill 98, just your own legislation.

00:00:03.060 Like, can we organize something?

00:00:05.060 I don't know right now.

00:00:06.740 Harrison Faulkner for True North.

00:00:08.840 On Friday, we went down to FordFest, the annual PC party and Doug Ford celebration.

00:00:14.080 We went there to try and figure out what the heck is going on inside Ontario's schools.

00:00:18.960 Last year, when footage emerged of a transgender shop class teacher in Oakville

00:00:23.840 who wears giant prosthetic Z-cup breasts in front of his class,

00:00:28.720 Ontario became the laughingstock of the world.

00:00:31.840 Not just for how absurd it was,

00:00:34.120 but because the Ontario government refused to do anything about it for months.

00:00:38.860 Since then, independent journalists and parents began to take a closer look

00:00:42.700 at what's been going on behind their backs at our schools.

00:00:45.980 And let's just say that the discoveries have been downright disturbing.

00:00:50.420 We now know that schools in Ontario have been actively hiding from parents

00:00:54.740 the trans identity of their children while at school,

00:00:57.660 allowing them to use a different name and different pronouns and not telling parents.

00:01:02.560 We spoke with a TDSB trustee and he confirmed that the largest school board in Canada

00:01:07.540 is indeed doing that.

00:01:10.060 We also know that male students have free access to

00:01:13.520 female bathrooms and change rooms while at school. 0.89

00:01:17.260 If you want to know what happens to a student who opposes this measure,

00:01:21.080 just ask student activist leader, Josh Alexander.

00:01:23.740 School surveys have been sent out to students in grades as early as four

00:01:28.560 asking about their sexual identity and in grades as early as seven

00:01:32.400 asking students if they are transgender.

00:01:35.360 Why exactly school boards need to know this information hasn't been made clear to us.

00:01:39.320 How about the discovery of sexually explicit books

00:01:42.420 at Ontario public school libraries like Gender Queer and Lawn Boy? 0.82

00:01:47.320 Throughout all of this, Ontario test scores in math and other subjects have plummeted,

00:01:52.240 thanks in large part to the government shutting schools down during the pandemic.

00:01:56.380 Parents have reached their breaking point.

00:01:58.360 They are now gathering in their hundreds outside of Ontario schools

00:02:01.640 to protest gender ideology inside the classroom

00:02:05.040 and to repeat the now famous phrase,

00:02:07.800 leave our kids alone. 0.91

00:02:09.460 Leave our kids alone! 1.00

00:02:11.520 Leave our kids alone! 1.00

00:02:13.500 Leave our kids alone! 1.00

00:02:15.500 We went to FordFest to try and track down

00:02:17.600 Education Minister Stephen Lecce

00:02:19.360 to ask him about what is taking place inside these schools

00:02:22.880 and if he thinks parents have a right to know

00:02:24.620 if their children are undergoing a social transition at school.

00:02:28.280 As you're going to see, the second he saw us approach,

00:02:31.980 he ran away from us.

00:02:33.480 He didn't want to answer any questions

00:02:35.360 and we didn't even ask him any tough questions either.

00:02:37.820 We asked him about his own legislation.

00:02:40.760 We also spoke with PC Party supporters and attendees at FordFest

00:02:44.480 to ask them what they thought of how education is being handled

00:02:47.640 by Stephen Lecce and Doug Ford.

00:02:50.400 Take a look at what happened on Friday.

00:02:52.060 In Ontario schools, teachers and school boards

00:02:55.740 are keeping private from parents their own children

00:02:59.940 undergoing social gender transitions

00:03:02.440 using a different name and different gender pronouns at school

00:03:05.240 and not telling the parents.

00:03:07.360 What do you make of that?

00:03:07.940 In my opinion, the gender should be separated from the school. 1.00

00:03:13.240 It is impossible to keep it together.

00:03:16.540 Children should learn from the beginning

00:03:19.400 not LGBT and not LGBT.

00:03:22.320 Not.

00:03:23.080 It's something wrong with this, you know.

00:03:24.800 LGBT, we accept this.

00:03:28.100 But they should be quiet.

00:03:29.560 They should...

00:03:30.620 They are not...

00:03:33.000 It's around 1-2% of them, okay?

00:03:38.140 I don't know why they're doing the noise.

00:03:40.840 Why?

00:03:41.200 What's the reason?

00:03:42.940 Most people, they don't care about them.

00:03:47.080 But they shouldn't...

00:03:50.060 For example, it's one month of pride.

00:03:52.840 Why is one month?

00:03:53.800 It's totally enough one day only.

00:03:56.940 Why the school put the flags?

00:03:59.280 Why?

00:03:59.720 What is the reason?

00:04:01.520 The most important is family.

00:04:04.740 Everything should be together with family.

00:04:09.140 You know, I think that is complete BS.

00:04:10.780 Yes, being a parent myself of three kids from the ages of 10 and down.

00:04:14.800 You know, if my kids had a problem with identifying what gender they go by, I think it's the parents' right to know.

00:04:21.500 We are their guardians.

00:04:22.340 We are their parents.

00:04:23.260 And it's not for a teacher or school or anybody else to withhold that type of information from the family.

00:04:27.840 You know what?

00:04:28.820 If one of my own children was to come out, say they wanted to be gender neutral or, you know, they want to be referred to as whatever, I have no problem with it being a parent.

00:04:37.580 My children have the right to make their own decisions.

00:04:40.200 But you know what?

00:04:40.960 The school boards do not have the right to hold that back from any parents in any which way, shape, or form.

00:04:47.580 You know what?

00:04:48.100 Those are our children, not yours.

00:04:50.660 And you know what?

00:04:51.820 If there's something that is happening with my children, I expect the school and the school board and those teachers to let us know.

00:04:58.260 Especially when they're under the age of majority, when we are their guardians and we basically are their voices.

00:05:03.560 What do you make of the way that the province, Doug Ford and Stephen Lecce, have handled education in Ontario so far?

00:05:10.040 Not good at all.

00:05:11.520 The fact that they're trying to silence parents' voices is absolutely despicable.

00:05:16.740 They are forgetting in loco parentis, which means they are an agent of the parent.

00:05:21.740 They are not the parent.

00:05:24.440 You might have heard me speak to another gentleman here.

00:05:26.560 In New Brunswick, they've just passed a law to stop the practice of withholding the information from parents,

00:05:31.600 allowing children to socially transition with other parents, knowing.

00:05:35.160 Is it time for Ontario to do the same?

00:05:37.680 I think that Ontario needs to start forcing schools to have to tell the parents.

00:05:45.540 It's their children.

00:05:47.100 They need to know.

00:05:47.880 They need to be able to raise their kids.

00:05:50.540 The teachers are not the parents.

00:05:52.380 So I'm with DDSB Concerned Parents as well as Durham Parents United.

00:06:00.080 And I only just started getting up and going to my school board when there's meetings and trying to talk to my trustees and whatever else.

00:06:08.920 It's not difficult to do.

00:06:10.720 It's very easy to come up and just let your voice be heard.

00:06:14.080 Don't be afraid.

00:06:14.820 You can't be afraid of being called names anymore.

00:06:16.720 Your children are worth so much more than that.

00:06:18.880 What do you make of how education has been handled by Doug Ford and Education Minister Stephen Lecce?

00:06:23.420 Very poorly.

00:06:24.660 Why is that?

00:06:25.500 That's because he wants to save public money.

00:06:27.580 He doesn't want to spend public money on the public.

00:06:29.960 That's simple.

00:06:30.440 He doesn't want to subsidize the private sector.

00:06:32.200 That's one way you do it.

00:06:33.120 You cut back on education, all your public services.

00:06:36.700 That's it.

00:06:37.420 It's a name and a game for these people.

00:06:38.840 One of the big issues going around right now is that teachers are withholding information about students undergoing a gender social transition using a different name and different pronoun at school, not telling parents.

00:06:53.540 What do you make of that?

00:06:54.780 Well, my granddaughter's a transgender and that, so I guess they've got to protect themselves, I guess. 1.00

00:07:03.220 Remember, 1960 in Ontario, there were only three or four people that were transgender.

00:07:07.360 Now there's thousands in that, eh?

00:07:10.260 So, you know.

00:07:12.120 The common line of defense for this is that outing a child to their own parents is a dangerous thing.

00:07:19.540 Do you agree with that?

00:07:20.500 Or do you think that parents should know if their child is using a different name or pronoun at a school?

00:07:25.540 It's up to the child.

00:07:26.600 If they want their parents in on it, then it's up to them.

00:07:29.220 What do you think about education, the way it's been handled by the Premier and the Education Minister so far?

00:07:33.800 Excellent.

00:07:34.480 Everyone should be educated and they're doing a very good job.

00:07:37.820 What do you make of the fact that in schools now, teachers and principals at schools are withholding the social transition of children,

00:07:44.520 allowing children to go by a different pronoun and name than the parents have, and they're keeping that information from parents?

00:07:50.480 What do you make of that?

00:07:51.260 Not good.

00:07:52.080 Not good?

00:07:52.740 I don't like it.

00:07:53.940 In New Brunswick, they've just passed a law to repeal that, to make that process illegal.

00:07:58.480 Do you think the government in Ontario should do the same?

00:08:00.820 Yes.

00:08:01.880 The provincial government should get involved if they believe in parents' rights.

00:08:06.860 If they believe in parents' rights, unfortunately, the current government does not.

00:08:11.340 The provincial government doesn't believe in parental rights.

00:08:14.360 If they were, they would have let the parents decide what type of curriculum and what their children learn in school.

00:08:23.700 So I'm guessing you think there needs to be a law to stop this practice from schools?

00:08:28.740 What do you think?

00:08:29.220 Because they did it in New Brunswick, but they haven't done it in Ontario yet.

00:08:32.200 But personally, I don't think that the current government is on the liberal side.

00:08:40.640 So, but if they were, yeah, should be a law, absolutely, that will make parents the sole decider of their children,

00:08:51.980 what they learn in schools.

00:08:53.020 The question we're asking parents here, and I know it's a bit of an education file, but it is in the news.

00:09:12.100 Does the government believe that parents have a right to know if students are going through a social transition at school

00:09:17.860 using different names and pronouns?

00:09:19.260 Because right now, school boards are keeping that information private, confidential from parents.

00:09:23.880 What are your thoughts on that?

00:09:24.940 Well, my thoughts are I stick in my lane.

00:09:26.820 I've got so much going on in the Attorney General's office, getting the courts running and humming.

00:09:30.900 And so I'm not going to comment on education.

00:09:33.140 I'm sure you'll be chatting with Steve Lecce.

00:09:35.160 Okay, we're trying to find him, but I appreciate you taking the time.

00:09:37.780 Yeah.

00:09:39.660 Minister Lecce, I'm with True North, Harrison Faulkner.

00:09:43.120 Just Bill 78.

00:09:47.000 How do you plan to hold...

00:09:48.440 I just want to ask you about Bill 98.

00:09:57.280 Your own legislation.

00:09:58.560 Can we organize something?

00:10:01.480 Okay, can we...

00:10:02.780 Can I communicate with your staff?

00:10:04.860 You can reach out to Grace Lee.

00:10:06.660 Sorry, hold on.

00:10:07.380 Grace Lee, that's the media person in our office. 0.99

00:10:09.840 I can't just interview.

00:10:12.900 I can't just interview.

00:10:13.400 All right, so we tried.

00:10:20.740 We tried to track him down all the way from the field over here to the bathroom.

00:10:24.480 He's hidden in the bathroom.

00:10:25.480 Now he's come out.

00:10:26.000 He doesn't want to talk about Bill 98, his own policy.

00:10:29.100 But further, I'm guessing he doesn't want to talk about what parents have to say about teachers withholding gender identity,

00:10:35.560 gender transitions from parents in schools.

00:10:39.180 You'd think that's the kind of thing the education minister of the PC party would be all over.

00:10:43.060 But just the idea of talking to us in independent media doesn't seem to be what they want to do.

00:10:46.900 Well, we reached out to Stephen Lecce's communication staff to ask them the questions we were going to ask Stephen Lecce before he ran away from us.

00:10:55.060 They didn't respond to our email and get back to us in time for this video.

00:10:58.600 Okay, TDSB trustee, Mr. Dennis Hastings.

00:11:01.560 Okay, yes, so we're here asking parents what they think of the education file being handled by the province.

00:11:07.160 In particular, we know that at the TDSB, or it's also happening in other schools,

00:11:12.500 that teachers and school boards are withholding the information of children undergoing social transitions,

00:11:19.280 different names and different pronouns from parents.

00:11:21.900 You're a trustee.

00:11:22.460 Could you explain why that's taking place in Ontario schools?

00:11:25.100 I'm still yet to get a grasp of that, but it does happen, I'm afraid to say.

00:11:31.140 But again, I haven't gotten to the bottom of that yet.

00:11:34.620 Is it the kind of thing that you think would be important for school boards to do,

00:11:38.900 or as a trustee, do you think that's the kind of thing that should be stopped in schools?

00:11:43.000 I don't think it should be in schools.

00:11:45.760 Do you face any pushback from other TDSB trustees for your positions?

00:11:50.180 No.

00:11:51.020 No, you don't?

00:11:51.820 No.

00:11:52.800 We also know that last year there was a TDSB census given out to students.

00:11:58.060 In grades as young as four, students were asked about their sexual identity.

00:12:01.560 And in grades as young as seven, they were asked if they were transgender.

00:12:06.160 Why does the TDSB want to know that information about students at that age?

00:12:09.560 I couldn't tell you, and it shouldn't happen.

00:12:12.060 They don't know they're alive yet, so why would you?

00:12:16.220 Well, that's interesting because I think from a lot of people's perspective,

00:12:19.220 they view that the school boards are homogenous groups that are pushing this.

00:12:22.620 But it's interesting to hear from a trustee that you don't think it should be happening.

00:12:26.020 No.

00:12:26.320 All right, that wraps up FordFest 2023.

00:12:29.460 As you just saw, we tried to track down the Minister of Education, Stephen Lecce,

00:12:33.640 but he ran away from us, ladies and gentlemen.

00:12:35.860 In fact, he ran into the bathroom trying to get away from conservative independent media.

00:12:40.440 All we did, actually, was just ask him about a recent piece of legislation he passed, Bill 98,

00:12:45.380 a bill to hold school boards accountable.

00:12:48.060 You'd think that's the kind of thing that an education minister like him would want to talk about.

00:12:51.660 But he must have known that we were going to ask him later about parents wanting to know what's going on

00:12:56.640 with their children in schools, because right now they don't.

00:12:58.740 Right now, as we talked to you before, teachers are withholding the social transition of children from parents.

00:13:06.340 And Ontario hasn't done anything about it.

00:13:08.200 We spoke to supporters of the government that had very serious words to say about it as well.

00:13:12.540 They do not like this policy.

00:13:13.800 They want to see the government do something about this.

00:13:16.160 But as of right now, they're not.

00:13:17.880 Maybe that's why Stephen Lecce didn't want to talk to us.

00:13:20.100 We also tracked down the attorney general, Doug Downey.

00:13:22.880 He didn't want to talk about it either.

00:13:24.480 Understandably, he wanted to stay in his lane.

00:13:26.360 It seems to be a hot-button issue, but you would think for conservatives it would be a home run,

00:13:30.840 the kind of thing that would play well with their base.

00:13:32.980 We spoke to them, and the base likes it.

00:13:34.520 But for whatever reason, the government doesn't want to talk about it.

00:13:37.200 We also spoke to one man who has a transgender granddaughter,

00:13:39.800 and he likes the idea of students being able to keep their social transition secret from parents.

00:13:45.840 It's important to tell both sides of the story here,

00:13:47.900 but I can tell you for certain the majority of people we spoke to want to see the government do something about this.

00:13:53.040 They want to see Ontario stop this practice.

00:13:56.600 Will the Premier answer?

00:13:57.680 Will they do anything about it?

00:13:59.100 That is to be seen.

00:14:00.420 For True North, in Scarborough, Harrison Faulkner.

Juno News - June 26, 2023

Lecce RUNS AWAY as parents slam gender ideology in Ontario schools

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