The Ontario teacher was cautioned by their professional regulator but has retained their teaching certificate after The Democracy Fund defence.
TORONTO: The Democracy Fund (TDF) has successfully defended an Ontario teacher accused of failing to use pronouns in his classroom.
Our client has decades of classroom experience and is well-regarded by students and peers. He is practiced in teaching students from different cultural, ethnic and religious backgrounds. However, the introduction of convoluted guidance and rules by the school board regarding the use of trans students' pronouns resulted in tension among students. In an attempt to resolve this tension, it was alleged that our client ran afoul of the school's pronoun rules.
After a complaint was made to his professional regulator, he retained TDF to assist.
TDF took the position that our client did not breach the school's pronoun rules. After correspondence with TDF and review by the investigation committee, our client's professional regulator decided only to issue an oral caution to our client. Our client is now free to resume his profession.
Our client was pleased with the resolution and thanked TDF for its help in defending his reputation and career: "TDF's legal assistance, and equally so, their moral support, made all the difference to me."
Mark Joseph, senior litigation counsel for TDF, said, "We've recently seen a move by regulatory bodies for doctors, nurses, psychologists and lawyers to scrutinize and overly police the speech of their members. This is worrying to those of us who value professional independence and free speech."
About The Democracy Fund:
Founded in 2021, The Democracy Fund (TDF) is a Canadian charity dedicated to constitutional rights, advancing education and relieving poverty. TDF promotes constitutional rights through litigation and public education. TDF supports an access to justice initiative for Canadians whose civil liberties have been infringed by government lockdowns and other public policy responses to the pandemic.