The founder of the website VoteAgainstWoke.ca said 21 “unawakened” trustees were elected to public school boards across Ontario during the state’s municipal elections on Oct. 24. I’m here.
“The movement has begun,” the anonymous founder, who uses the pseudonym “Matt” to protect his identity, said in an email to The Epoch Times.
“This is the first time we’ve seen a massive backlash against awakened people in Canada.”
Matt launched a VoteAgainstWoke in late September to help voters understand trustee candidates who support parental choice in schools and oppose the expansion of curriculum items such as gender theory and critical race theory. I made it possible.
Twenty-four Catholic Boards of Education endorsed by VoteAgainstWoke were also elected.
Teresa Pierre, founder and president of Parents As First Educators (PAFE), an advocacy group in Ontario, said PAFE endorsed more elected councilors than VoteAgainstWoke. I was.
“We are very pleased with the results we have seen,” Pierre said in an interview with The Epoch Times.
‘Turning Point’
PAFE has not released a list of the candidates it supported, but Pierre said this year’s results were markedly different compared to previous local elections.
“The board has just reached a tipping point in terms of parents’ frustration with the awakened and gender ideologies we see in schools,” she said.
“The Halton teacher incident was probably also the motivation for this election cycle,” said Pierre, a high school teacher at the Halton District School Board (HDSB), who was videotaped wearing a large prosthesis. Later, we mentioned the person who made international headlines in September. Breasts with protruding nipples in class.
Margo Shuttleworth, who was re-elected as HDSB chairman this week, previously said the school board supports teachers’ actions “as set forth in the Ontario Human Rights Charter.”
Newly elected HDSB board member Xin Yi Zhang addressed the teachers’ behavior in an email to The Epoch Times, saying the school board should implement a “dress code for teachers.”
“Students are the customers of schools,” writes Zhang. “Decisions should be made by parents who have children in school.”
The student dress code for 2021-2022 at Oakville Trafalgar High School, where the teacher works, states that students must not wear clothing that “exposes or exposes the genitalia or nipples.” The dress code does not specify a dress code for staff and faculty.
“This issue should be resolved by the current board members,” said Zhang.
Within the Halton district, three candidates were elected to the board, including Zhang, who was endorsed by VoteAgainstWoke. Shuttleworth did not give up his seat.
waterloo board
Three Waterloo Area District School Board (WRDSB) Board Candidates endorsed by VoteAgainstWoke were also elected or re-elected on October 24th.
WRDSB board member Mike Ramsey, who is currently involved in a lawsuit against board chairman Scott Piatkowski, has been re-elected. Mr. Ramsay was suspended from board meetings from June through September following allegations that he violated the trustee’s code of conduct.
Ramsay released the documents in a Twitter post on Oct. 2, saying his suspension was related to public criticism of the board and Piatkowski, who was re-elected this week.
Ramsay called out Piatkowski on social media after a WRDSB teacher was expelled from the school’s board of trustees after she voiced concerns about the age-appropriateness of sexual content contained in certain books in the district’s school library. was criticizing.
Teacher Carolyn Burjoski was cut by Piatkowski midway through her January 17 presentation, saying she was concerned that her comments violated Ontario’s human rights law.
At the next board meeting on January 24, director Mike Ramsey asked Piatkowski to apologize for his actions against Brujoski, but the chairman refused. A few months later, the board decided to suspend Ramsay.
Newly elected WRDSB board member Bill Cody said he believes the board has become “disconnected from his parents.”
“We cannot ignore how the problems that have accumulated in a dysfunctional board affect children,” Cody wrote in The Epoch Times.
“We need to rebuild a healthy and transparent education system where educators teach, parents become parents and students thrive.”
Cody said schools need to end all “age-inappropriate curricula and policies and political and divisive responses.”
“Different opinions can strengthen decision-making and expand possibilities,” he said. “If you do it respectfully, you should be able to share your views without fear of repercussions, threats or stigma.”
“When the political agenda turns schools into battlefields, it is our children who suffer the consequences.”
Jared Gnam contributed to this report.
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Peter Wilson is a reporter based in Ontario, Canada.