Parent’s Concern Over Male-Bodied Students in Girls’ Washroom ‘Transphobic’: Ottawa School Board

A file photo of a gender neutral washroom sign. Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press

A parent worried about his 12-year-old daughter sharing a bathroom with biological males at her middle school had his presentation cut short at an Ottawa school board meeting.

“Due to concerns that the presentation was transphobic and could be used to promote hate or discrimination against trans youth, the chair ruled the delegation out of order,” the Ottawa Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) told The Epoch Times via email.

“Me being called transphobic, which couldn’t be further from the truth, is not going to make matters any better or move us any closer to a solution but instead just create more divisiveness, anger, and frustration,” the parent, Nick Morabito, told The Epoch Times via email.

He has four children at OCDSB schools. He raised concerns at the March 7 meeting about his second youngest, who he said regularly encounters a transgender student in the girls’ washroom. Had Morabito been allowed to continue his presentation, he said, he would have gotten to the part about his concerns for the wellbeing of transgender students as well.

“This issue does indeed speak to the very real concern of gender diverse students being bullied in washrooms as well as the risk of something negative happening to them that may affect their mental health,” Morabito said. He believes private, gender-neutral washrooms are the best option.

OCDSB did not confirm that all of their schools have such washrooms, but Morabito said he believes they do.

He said at his son’s OCDBS high school, a student who recently started identifying as female has been using the girls’ change room.

The Ontario Human Rights Code says that concerns such as Morabito’s are “transphobic” in nature. It states: “A trans person should not be required to use a separate washroom or change room because others express discomfort or transphobic attitudes, such as, ‘trans women are a threat to other women.’”

Morabito said he thinks this part of the code comes from good intentions, but “The reality is that anyone can pretend to be something they are not and pose as a gender diverse person to gain access to these facilities.” He added, “To expect parents to ignore this very real risk is a lot to ask.”

‘Frustration and Anger’

A local journalist posted an excerpt from the removed meeting video on Twitter. It shows Morabito starting his presentation, saying “students that were assigned a male gender at birth” are allowed to use the same washroom as his daughter.

He said teenaged boys are “sexually driven.” He spoke of his “belief in the safety and inclusivity of all people,” but added that “this is about having appropriate and safe boundaries.”

Trustee Nili Kaplan-Myrth cut him short and said, “On the grounds that this creates an unsafe environment for people who identify as gender diverse, I’m going to have to ask you to end your delegation.”

When Morabito asked how it creates an unsafe environment, Kaplan-Myrth did not respond, but called a recess.

Kaplan-Myrth did not reply to The Epoch Times inquiry about the exchange as of publication. On March 9, she posted on Twitter a death threat she received that included a racial slur against her. She wrote, “March 7, I did my job. March 8, this arrived. Don’t look away. Don’t be indifferent. This vitriol is a threat to us all.”

Morabito shared her tweet and wrote, “Sickening and completely undeserved.” He continued, “When concerns surrounding children are present shutting down open dialogue creates anger but no excuse for this disgusting display of hatred.”

A video recording of the meeting has been removed on the board’s YouTube channel and replaced with a message saying OCDSB is working to address “concerns that content from the meeting is discriminatory and causes harm toward trans and gender diverse people.”

A group of people at the meeting were angry that Morabito was cut short, OCDSB told The Epoch Times, leading board members to call the police. The people in question left before police arrived.

After Kaplan-Myrth silenced Morabito, someone in the gallery yelled out, “Who are you to stop him? You work for the public. He’s a member of the public and a concerned parent.”

Morabito said the board created an “unsafe” environment by stoking the anger of other parents, though they accuse him of creating an “unsafe” environment for transgender students. “Frustration and anger create an unsafe environment, respectful open dialogue creates understanding and progress,” he said.

“We continue to review our practices to ensure trustees, staff and members of the public can engage and discuss issues in a safe and respectful manner,” OCDSB said. “Individually held beliefs or feelings of discomfort are not a justifiable reason for discriminating against trans and gender-diverse community members.”

A Nearby Protest

A student in Renfrew, not far from Ottawa, has made headlines this school year after speaking out about male-bodied students in the girls’ washroom.

Josh Alexander told The Epoch Times that girls at his school confided to him their discomfort with transgender students in their washroom. Talking to the school administration did not produce results, so he organized a protest.

One of the girls, whom The Epoch Times has decided not to name, told The Epoch Times she was caught off guard the first time a transgender student entered the washroom with her. “I didn’t even really know at that point that he self-identified as female,” she said. “It’s for my own privacy and safety that I felt like I had to say something.”

As Alexander has continued to speak on the issue, and also to maintain that his Catholic faith includes the belief there are only two genders, St. Joseph’s High School has forbid him from attending for the rest of the year. They say his “presence is detrimental to the safety or well-being” of the transgender students.