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PEMBROKE, Ontario – Student activist Josh Alexander, suspended for saying God made human beings male and female, will be unable to return to school thanks to a decision by the local Catholic school board
The Renfrew County Catholic District School Board (RCCDSB) ruled against 17-year-old Josh Alexander’s appeal of his suspension from St. Joseph’s Catholic High School last month. A publication ban means the reasons for their decision cannot be published.
“From the start, they have wanted complete secrecy around the case,” Alexander’s lawyer James Kitchen told LifeSiteNews today. “The excuse … is protecting the privacy and identity of these people under 18, which, of course, doesn’t make any sense to anybody who takes even a second to look at this.”
The appeal hearing, held on November 15 and 17, was held in “full complete secrecy” thanks to a full publication ban which prevents any documents used in the appeal from being published.
Kitchen previously told LifeSiteNews that the school board granted the St. Joseph Catholic High School administration its requested publication ban on all documents submitted against Alexander, an Evangelical Christian, ahead of the hearing.
The lawyer explained that bans are usually granted if the case involves sensitive information, including names of minors.
“The problem is that they’re saying we want everything covered in secrecy, even the stuff that has nothing to do with the privacy of a student,” he revealed.
The court rejected Kitchen’s argument that the ban should only apply to sensitive information and not to any information submitted by the school administration.
“It doesn’t justify the full, complete secrecy,” he explained. “So obviously, there’s some other reason that they don’t want to disclose, and they’re just using this reason and hoping that nobody will hold them accountable.”
He added: “The school board feels like nobody can hold them accountable.”
Kitchen said the panel ruled that Alexander had bullied “transgender” students in the school. It ignored the argument that Alexander had been expressing his religious beliefs, something protected under the Ontario Human Rights Code.
“He expressed his religious beliefs, and then he was punished for doing so,” Kitchen declared. He believes the board realized that they could not argue that the school’s discrimination against Alexander was justified, so they came up with the “bullying” claim.
“They had to … take the absurd approach of saying [regarding Alexander’s profession of faith], ‘Well, that’s not actually what happened’,” he added.
Last year, Jason Alexander, then 16 years old, became famous for refusing to cave to LGBT ideology in his school and for speaking out against male students entering female bathrooms.
Alexander refused to back down from his beliefs and was indefinitely suspended from St. Joseph’s Catholic School, rendering him unable to graduate.
Despite being arrested for protesting multiple times, Alexander continues the fight, traveling across Canada holding protests against the LGBT agenda. He has now become a familiar face in the pro-family movement, with many recognizing him by his red “Save Canada” hat.
Kitchen told LifeSiteNews that he and Alexander would love to appeal the decision and its publication ban. However, Liberty Coalition Canada, which was sponsoring their fight, does not currently have the funds to further Alexander’s case.
To help Alexander appeal the decisions, please consider donating to Liberty Coalition Canada here.
