Rebel News Podcast - SHEILA GUNN REID ｜ Ottawa area teachers banned from sharing gender identity of kids with parents

00:00:00.000 Oh, hey, Rebels, it's me, Sheila Gunn-Reed, and you're listening to a free audio-only

00:00:04.360 recording of my weekly Wednesday night show, The Gun Show.

00:00:06.920 However, as you know, I say it every week, this is the internet, and the beauty of that

00:00:10.360 is that you can listen or watch the show whenever you feel like.

00:00:13.720 Now, tonight my guest is someone new to the show, but I don't think he's all that new

00:00:17.560 to you, is Cosmin Gerja from True North, and he has really been drilling down on a lot

00:00:24.880 of the madness that is happening at the school board level in Canada, and as a parent, it's

00:00:31.480 pretty frightening.

00:00:32.560 Now, if you like listening to the show, then I promise you're going to love watching it,

00:00:35.240 but in order to watch, you need to be a subscriber to Rebel News Plus.

00:00:39.160 That's what we call our long-form TV-style shows here on Rebel News.

00:00:43.640 Subscribers get access to my show, which naturally I think is pretty great, but you also get access

00:00:49.300 to Ezra Levant's Nightly Ezra Levant Show, David Menzies' Fun Friday Night Show Rebel

00:00:54.380 Roundup in Andrew Chapados' show, Andrew Says.

00:00:57.860 It's only $8 a month for all of that, and just for our podcast listeners, you can save

00:01:02.960 an extra 10% on a new Rebel News Plus subscription by using the coupon code PODCAST when you subscribe.

00:01:09.580 Just go to rebelnewsplus.com to become a member today.

00:01:13.400 Now, please enjoy this free audio-only version of my show.

00:01:21.380 You're listening to Rebel News Podcast.

00:01:24.380 What is the most insane school board in the entire country?

00:01:35.680 I think one just self-identified.

00:01:39.140 I'm Sheila Gunn-Reed, and you are watching The Gunn Show.

00:01:41.840 I think the Ottawa Carleton District School Board might be one of the most overtly woke school boards

00:02:06.420 in the most overtly woke country, at least in the Northern Hemisphere.

00:02:12.400 Cosman, Georgia from True North, has been the lead investigative journalist in the entire country,

00:02:18.320 digging into some of the more radical policies and initiatives at school boards from coast to coast to coast.

00:02:24.440 And the OCD-SB has come on his radar with some really bizarre decisions.

00:02:31.620 For example, back in September, the board removed Lord of the Flies after the William Golding novel was described by a student as rife with, quote,

00:02:40.860 white male supremacy, which tells the story of a group of boys in a hierarchical order who fight for power and degrade one another, end quote.

00:02:49.260 Good job missing the point there, little lady. 1.00

00:02:51.580 Three weeks before Remembrance Day, the board wondered if singing O Canada at school gatherings was, quote, distasteful,

00:02:59.820 and they mused if the tradition, which is entrenched in Ontario law, should be just, you know, replaced altogether.

00:03:07.980 Now, more recently, and possibly more troubling, the school issued a 42-page gender identity and gender expression document,

00:03:15.560 which was meant to foster inclusive learning environments for all students.

00:03:19.460 Now, this document requires the schools to recognize the gender self-identification of students at any age

00:03:26.460 and prevents schools and teachers from sharing the new identities of the students with their parents.

00:03:34.360 Look at this from Cosman's article.

00:03:36.020 Trans, two-spirit, gender-diverse people are experts in their own identities and experiences,

00:03:42.480 and school staff must follow students' leads regarding the spaces and language that are most comfortable for them at any time.

00:03:53.580 School staff shall not share a student's trans or gender-diverse status with family members or guardians

00:04:02.780 without the explicit permission of the student.

00:04:06.600 A student's gender identity will only be disclosed to another person on a need-to-know basis.

00:04:14.920 I'd say parents always need to know.

00:04:16.980 Joining me tonight to discuss just some of the woke madness coming out of the OCDSB is Cosman Jirja of True North Centre.

00:04:28.660 Take a listen.

00:04:29.280 Joining me now from True North is Cosman Jirja.

00:04:47.320 I had to ask his name in advance how to pronounce it because I've only ever read it.

00:04:50.780 I've never actually said it.

00:04:52.080 Thanks for joining me, Cosman.

00:04:53.260 I noticed some of your reporting over the last little bit has just been fantastic on the madness at some of these school boards.

00:05:02.980 But in particular, the Ottawa-Carlton District School Board, I think it's one of the craziest ones in the country that we know about

00:05:14.320 because so many of these school boards do things that we don't really know about.

00:05:17.360 But these guys are pretty upfront about it.

00:05:19.960 And you have a great article over on True North that goes into the school board's gender guide

00:05:28.920 that says teachers can't question the washroom preferences of students.

00:05:34.060 Can you give us a broad overview of what's happening here?

00:05:38.480 Absolutely, Sheila.

00:05:39.360 Thank you for having me.

00:05:40.300 So before I go into the specifics of that guide, I would say that Canadian parents would be horrified

00:05:46.660 to see the type of gender ideology, critical race theory that is being pushed on the next generation of Canadian kids at these school boards.

00:05:56.420 And like you said, yes, the Ottawa-Carlton District School Board is one of the worst and most aggressive boards

00:06:05.000 that has been conducting themselves in this way.

00:06:07.700 But there are other school boards, the Toronto District School Board, you know, where I'm originally from,

00:06:12.720 the Waterloo Region District School Board.

00:06:15.080 They all have similar ideas regarding, you know, gender, race, and other identity issues.

00:06:23.560 Now, this latest guide, it's actually the second iteration of a guide that was originally published back in 2016.

00:06:30.960 It's called Gender Identity and Gender Expression, Fostering Inclusive Learning Environments for All Students. 0.94

00:06:38.640 And this will be presented to the OCDSB, so that's the Ottawa-Carlton District School Board's Advisory Committee on Equity,

00:06:49.500 on Thursday, this coming Thursday, November 25th, 2021.

00:06:52.940 So, there's really not a lot of time for parents to get involved, and if you are not actively on top of this stuff,

00:06:59.440 and, you know, life gets in the way, and you don't even think this stuff is being taught to your kids,

00:07:04.080 this is something that you hear about in American news media, but it's here, and it's coming.

00:07:10.100 Tell us a little bit about what this guide entails.

00:07:12.780 Sure, so, it's a sort of reference guide for educators, staff, teachers, on how to deal with, you know,

00:07:21.840 kids that might identify a different gender, so, you know, kids from the queer, LGBT community.

00:07:29.400 But the guide, it's a very comprehensive update to that 2016 document, which is only about, like, 14 pages.

00:07:37.900 This is about 46 pages, and it goes into detail on how to, you know, whether parents need consent,

00:07:45.660 kids need consent from their parents to change their names to a different gender on their school records.

00:07:52.900 So, there's a part at the end of that that has, it's a guided questions section that instructs teachers to ask their students

00:08:02.120 whether they would like to hide this information from their parents,

00:08:04.920 whether they would like to hide, you know, their gender transitions.

00:08:08.920 And it's funny because there's a disclaimer in that section that says, you know,

00:08:12.740 oh, we're not encouraging or, you know, telling teachers to lie to their parents necessarily,

00:08:21.440 but it doesn't say that they shouldn't lie.

00:08:24.780 So, it's a very problematic document.

00:08:27.920 It also goes into things like how to teach mathematics or science or technological studies through a gender-affirming lens.

00:08:38.440 So, it's essentially an ideological purity test that teachers and educators are being asked to abide by without question.

00:08:49.620 Yeah, it alludes to guiding questions, which sounds like grooming questions, once you get into them a little deeper.

00:08:58.500 Teachers are asked to pose a number of questions to students pertaining to hiding their gender identities

00:09:03.280 or transitioning from their parents or guardians.

00:09:05.240 And they sort of get together with the students that they've kind of identified as being on a broader gender spectrum,

00:09:14.920 I guess, to use the language of the left.

00:09:16.660 And then they sort of plot together about how we're going to deal with this when it comes to your parents,

00:09:21.660 ahead of the parents even knowing about any of this stuff,

00:09:25.240 and make a plan with the students about whether we're going to tell your parents

00:09:29.480 or not tell your parents while your children are manifesting this stuff at school.

00:09:33.680 Yes, and it all hinges, it says directly in that document,

00:09:38.420 that self-identification is the sole measure of a person's gender.

00:09:43.320 So, not their biological sex, but how they feel in that moment.

00:09:47.620 So, essentially, teachers are being asked to abide and respond to the whims of students

00:09:53.860 depending on their mood or gender flavor of that day.

00:09:58.520 I'm not sure whether this is a sustainable or, you know, a good approach,

00:10:03.680 considering, you know, I was a teenager once and I was moody and changed my mind all of the time.

00:10:08.080 So, are we really going to, you know, create policies and, you know, ways we educate kids based solely on this?

00:10:18.080 I don't think it's such a good idea.

00:10:20.940 Now, you touched on this briefly, but students themselves can initiate changing their school records

00:10:29.160 based on how students self-identify.

00:10:31.200 And the school will just go along with this.

00:10:34.460 And this was kind of shocking to me because my daughter can't change her address

00:10:38.640 without me having to sign off on a piece of paper saying, yeah, this is where we live now.

00:10:43.860 And so, the students can actually change their own name and sex on their government documents

00:10:55.640 or their official school records.

00:10:57.380 And the only way the parents would ever know about this is if the parents access the school records on their own

00:11:04.720 at some later point.

00:11:05.860 So, you could, you know, be asking for your kids' marks later on down the road and you're like, oh, who's Susie?

00:11:13.700 I sent Johnny to school.

00:11:15.420 Who's this little girl? 0.98

00:11:16.680 And the teachers have just gone and changed it.

00:11:20.820 Yes, exactly.

00:11:21.560 That's the sort of, you know, technicalities they use to say, well, we're not hiding this.

00:11:26.360 Parents can access this information.

00:11:28.300 But, you know, they won't be given that information immediately, right?

00:11:32.480 So, they have to go and dig for it.

00:11:33.980 And as your viewers probably know, here in BC, there was a big case of a young girl who transitioned into a male.

00:11:45.780 And this fact was hidden from the father.

00:11:49.320 And he only realized, I think, if I recall correctly, when he saw her school pictures and she was dressed as a boy on that day.

00:11:57.140 So, up until then, up until, you know, he accidentally, you know, discovered this fact, it was hidden from them.

00:12:04.460 So, from him.

00:12:05.560 So, I wonder, you know, if they're willing to hide something like, you know, name changes or changes of sex on school records,

00:12:13.740 what else are they willing to hide from parents?

00:12:16.700 Now, can you tell me, did they give an age range in this document?

00:12:21.140 Is this for all students, just high school students?

00:12:24.180 When does this apply?

00:12:25.160 When does it kick in?

00:12:27.140 As far as I can tell, it's, it applies to all OCDSB schools.

00:12:33.300 And, you know, that includes elementary, secondary schools within the district.

00:12:38.420 Yeah.

00:12:38.920 So, these could be kids as young as 10 saying, actually, I'm not John, I'm Susie, and I'm a girl now.

00:12:45.900 Yeah, I don't think there's any age restrictions there.

00:12:48.580 It's a pretty much a blanket way to deal with kids of all ages who have these sorts of, you know, gender changes.

00:12:59.160 And, you know, people are going to ask about the washroom issue.

00:13:04.100 It sounds like the second a student identifies as the opposite gender or somewhere on that gender spectrum,

00:13:12.980 they can use the washroom that they identify with as opposed to their biological washroom.

00:13:18.040 Yes, it's not only washrooms.

00:13:20.760 It also includes changing rooms.

00:13:22.980 And there's discussions about, you know, what to do on school field trips that are overnight stays.

00:13:27.300 But that document does not, you know, exclude the possibility of a student saying, yes, I want to go into the, you know, ladies change room, 0.96

00:13:39.160 even though I'm a biological male, and, you know, do my business there.

00:13:45.020 It actually states explicitly, do not question, you know, teachers are not allowed to question or surveil washroom use.

00:13:52.240 So, I think, you know, there are, in some cases, genuine people who view themselves in a different way and wants to, you know, be accommodated.

00:14:04.020 But the problem with this policy is that it creates a condition where, you know, a potential bad actor could take advantage of this very loose and, you know, hard to enforce thing.

00:14:19.480 And it could create some serious problems for, you know, parents and children themselves and the school board in the future.

00:14:27.900 We can see this playing out in the United States.

00:14:30.340 There was a case where, you know, the school essentially hid a sexual assault that was committed by a student in a similar situation as the one I'm discussing right now.

00:14:42.440 Yeah, and I think for me as a parent, I see this as the parents are being excluded from this conversation.

00:14:48.960 We are being put on a need-to-know basis.

00:14:51.460 Well, it's my kid, and I need to know everything.

00:14:53.920 And I don't think the school should ever be the arbiter of the information that I receive from them about my child.

00:15:01.060 I think that's a really concerning thing outside of all the other issues at play here.

00:15:06.560 Isolating parents from information they must have about their children is a real problem here, especially when we know the rates of suicide and attempted suicide for kids who are struggling with their gender identity.

00:15:20.120 You'd want to flag this issue to a parent so that they could be on the lookout for anything manifesting at home.

00:15:27.600 Absolutely. I don't think the teachers or educators, the bureaucrats, will do anything to change this.

00:15:38.220 It is entirely up to parents.

00:15:40.620 And until now, they haven't been very, you know, aware of what's been going on because the media would happily like to ignore it.

00:15:49.560 You know, when push comes to shove, they do record on it because it's very hard to ignore when it's all over social media.

00:15:57.060 But, yeah, you're right.

00:15:58.600 You know, parents have a right to know.

00:16:00.160 They have a right to have a say in their kids' education.

00:16:03.660 And they need to be made aware of this endemic problem throughout Canada.

00:16:11.400 It stretches across the country.

00:16:14.340 I would say probably every school board has some sort of similar equity, gender, critical race theory inspired policy.

00:16:24.580 I think it's everywhere.

00:16:27.440 Yeah, I think keeping this sort of information away from parents flies in the face of the reason they say they're doing it in the first place.

00:16:34.300 And that's safety of the student.

00:16:36.880 You know, if your child is experiencing a condition that puts them at risk of self-harm,

00:16:43.260 you would want extra eyeballs on that student.

00:16:45.380 And carving parents out of the equation really doesn't do that which they say the policy is designed to do.

00:16:50.440 Now, I want to talk to you more about the Ottawa Carleton District School Board because, as we said off the top,

00:16:58.600 this is an ongoing issue with this school board that they've adopted basically every leftist bad idea and said,

00:17:07.520 perfect, let's run with that.

00:17:10.180 And so they, you have a report.

00:17:14.940 Again, I think you're the leading reporter on school board issues in the entire country because I don't think anybody's really digging into this.

00:17:22.920 We all sort of look at the macro issues of bad federal government, bad provincial government,

00:17:28.280 but we never look at the government that we can really affect the most because it's the closest to us.

00:17:35.220 And that's the school board, that's municipal politics.

00:17:37.260 Anyway, getting back to what I wanted to ask you about, the Ottawa Carleton District School Board's Indigenous Education Advisory Council

00:17:47.040 debated whether making students sing O Canada at the start of the school day was distasteful or should be replaced.

00:17:55.380 This is crazy, but it's also just unsurprising at this point.

00:18:00.680 Yes, and there's very little lack of self-awareness.

00:18:03.880 That was, you know, I think within a month or so of Remembrance Day.

00:18:08.420 And they were talking about this as if, you know, singing O Canada is some horrible, evil thing.

00:18:15.260 And that Indigenous students, you know, present must feel, you know, terrified or ashamed every time they sing O Canada, 0.97

00:18:23.380 which I think is just a ridiculous idea. 0.94

00:18:28.280 So, yeah, that's, it did happen. 0.50

00:18:29.980 It was one member in particular of that committee or council who brought this issue up.

00:18:36.680 And she, yeah, I think it was as it was a she, but she explicitly stated, yeah, it's distasteful and should be replaced. 1.00

00:18:45.340 Replaced with what?

00:18:46.320 I'm not sure, you know, the communist anthem, whatever.

00:18:48.660 Yeah, it's funny because that's actually the law in Ontario, right?

00:18:54.740 That opening or closing exercises must include the singing of O Canada and may include the recitation of a pledge of citizenship in the form set out in the regulations.

00:19:04.840 So, this is the law in Ontario and it's, there's nothing wrong with that law, but the chair suggested that Indigenous students,

00:19:15.940 and as I read this, I'm like, this is soft bigotry, actually.

00:19:19.260 This is thinking that Indigenous students are some sort of victimized monolith that all feel the same way about certain things.

00:19:26.120 And they all just, they must just hate Canada by virtue of being Indigenous, which is racist.

00:19:32.300 But she suggested that Indigenous students be permitted to sit and not participate in the singing of O Canada.

00:19:38.540 Elder Dumont expressed the opinion that the government of Canada needs to hold people accountable for the deaths of students at residential schools.

00:19:45.680 What has that got to do with the school presentation?

00:19:50.300 I don't understand how any of these things mesh and teaching little kids that maybe you have a reason to hate Canada.

00:19:57.240 I don't think that's a great idea for the future of this country.

00:20:01.080 Yeah.

00:20:01.700 So, even legally speaking, there is exemptions within the Ontario law for singing O Canada.

00:20:08.960 But as it was stated by the OCDSB, you know, you don't have to give any reason to be exempt from singing O Canada if you just want to sit down and they won't question you.

00:20:21.460 So, it is technically legal what they're saying, but the type of attitude they're taking, willing to trash the country, you know, bring it down, bring the nation down and paint it as some inherently evil, systemically racist thing.

00:20:37.960 So, yes, this is happening in a lot of school boards and a lot of educators and teachers, not all of them.

00:20:46.640 You know, I know teachers, I speak to them, but they do have this belief, this mentality, this sort of ideology that's kind of swept the country under our noses.

00:20:56.760 Now, Cosman, before I let you go, because this is still staying with the Ottawa Carleton District School Board.

00:21:02.540 Back in September, you reported that they removed Lord of the Flies from the English curriculum based on a complaint from a student who noted that she does not need to learn more about white male supremacy, which tells the story of a group of boys in a hierarchical order who fight for power and degrade one another.

00:21:30.180 I think the story of Lord of the Flies has a lot to do with mob rule.

00:21:36.560 And this one little girl is the mob that got a book burned. 1.00

00:21:39.920 Tell us about this.

00:21:41.020 Yeah, so that was included kind of off the cuff in one of the board meetings minutes.

00:21:49.500 And basically, what was described there was, yeah, the fact that this student in particular complained in an article written in a local or student newspaper about that book, you know, in my eyes, completely missing the point of the story, which is actually a critique on power structures.

00:22:13.080 Right.

00:22:13.560 Like that.

00:22:15.300 So, yeah, based on this, you know, the school decided to essentially remove it from the curriculum.

00:22:23.680 Now, the OCDSB claims, you know, it's still available as an option of study, but it's not being taught to students.

00:22:30.560 You know, I went to in high school.

00:22:32.360 I read Lord of the Flies.

00:22:34.000 It's a very popular book to read, and it is a good book.

00:22:38.580 It teaches important lessons.

00:22:40.140 But, you know, wokeness wins the day, and it was completely removed from its curriculum, as it states in that document.

00:22:47.600 Yeah.

00:22:48.160 Yeah.

00:22:49.020 It's just crazy what's unfolding at the school board level.

00:22:53.480 And, yeah, I'm afraid that a lot of parents are just sort of asleep at the switch.

00:22:58.180 They're going through the motions.

00:22:59.200 You send your parents or you send your kids to school thinking that they're going to learn actual valuable things that will help them in their future.

00:23:08.200 But the brainwashing apparently starts younger and younger and younger.

00:23:13.600 Cosmin, how can people find your work?

00:23:16.020 Because, like I said, you are one of the only journalists in the entire country doing this important work.

00:23:20.780 So how can they find your work and how can they support the work that you do and the work that True North does?

00:23:27.200 Sure.

00:23:27.640 Yeah, you can read our stories at truenorth at tnc.news.

00:23:32.320 Or alternatively, you can follow me on Twitter at CosminDZS.

00:23:37.280 Yeah.

00:23:37.820 And we regularly report on this.

00:23:40.220 We try to, you know, maintain and constantly check up on school boards.

00:23:45.620 I think it's important work.

00:23:47.240 And I think, you know, I'm happy that you're shining a light on this issue.

00:23:51.200 Yeah, I think this is one of those places where the culture war can actually be won in the direction of freedom if we sort of nip it in the bud before the little brainwashed people get into the power structures. 0.66

00:24:02.840 So I'm glad that you're recognizing this.

00:24:05.760 And I know you have a little one at home.

00:24:07.100 And so I'm sure you have personal motivations for doing this kind of work.

00:24:10.800 And I thank you for it.

00:24:12.060 Cosmin, I'm very disappointed in myself that I've never had you on the show before.

00:24:16.280 But hopefully we'll have you back on again very, very soon.

00:24:19.640 I would love to.

00:24:20.300 That'd be great.

00:24:21.100 Thanks.

00:24:21.320 Thank you, Sheila.

00:24:31.320 You know, friends, other school boards might be equally as far left and crazy.

00:24:36.660 But the Ottawa Carleton District School Board is probably the most upfront about it in the entire country.

00:24:41.980 So I think as parents, we probably should appreciate the honesty and we should be grateful for the work that Cosmin Georgia is doing over at True North to shine a light on some of this stuff because it should not be allowed to happen in darkness and without the knowledge of parents.

00:25:02.300 Well, everybody, that's the show for tonight.

00:25:03.860 Thank you so much for tuning in.

00:25:05.280 I'll see everybody back here in the same time, in the same place next week.

00:25:08.680 And remember, don't let the government tell you that you've had too much to think.

Rebel News Podcast - November 25, 2021

SHEILA GUNN REID ｜ Ottawa area teachers banned from sharing gender identity of kids with parents

Episode Stats

Summary

Transcript