Ontario Teachers College Will Review Professional Standards in Response to Teacher Wearing Large Prosthetic Breasts in Class

Stephen Lecce, minister of education for Ontario, makes an announcement in Toronto on Jan. 12, 2022. Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press

The Ontario College of Teachers (OCT) will review its professional standards, according to provincial Education Minister Stephen Lecce, in response to a controversial Oakville teacher who was videotaped and photographed wearing large prosthetic breasts during class.

“In this province, in our schools, we celebrate our differences and we also believe that there must be the highest standards of professionalism in front of our kids,” Lecce told reporters during a press conference on Sept. 23.

“And on that basis, I’ve asked the Ontario College of Teachers to review and to consider strengthening those provisions with respect to professional conduct which we think would be in the interest of all kids in Ontario,” he said.

The Oakville Trafalgar High School (OTHS) teacher, who was recorded wearing large prosthetic breasts with protruding nipples while demonstrating to students how to use a circular saw in shop class, is transgender and was previously known to students and faculty as a male going by a man’s name, according to a Toronto Sun article published Sept. 17.

Asked how the Halton District School Board (HDSB) would respond to the teacher’s actions, HDSB chair Margo Shuttleworth told The Epoch Times in a previous interview that they “are standing behind this member of staff, as prescribed by the Ontario Charter of Human Rights.”

The HDSB communications department said in an email that it “recognizes the rights of students, staff, parents/guardians, and community members to equitable treatment without discrimination based upon gender identity and gender expression,” adding that HDSB works to create “a safe, caring, inclusive, equitable ,and welcoming learning and working environment for all students and staff.”

The OCT’s professional standards currently include five “Standards of Practice,“ a number of ”ethical standards of care, trust, respect and integrity,“ and the College’s ”Professional Learning Framework,” which includes its standards for teacher professionalism.

The OCT’s practice standards say that teachers must “treat students equitably and with respect and are sensitive to factors that influence individual student learning” and also that they must “recognize their shared responsibilities and their leadership roles in order to facilitate student success.”

On Sept. 23, a protest was held just outside Oakville Trafalgar High School at which demonstrators bemoaned the teacher’s actions and the trustee board’s support of them.

Several OTHS students at the protest told The Epoch Times that they feel uncomfortable around the teacher, with one ninth-grader named Aziz saying, “The teacher’s creeping me out.”

Another student named Roman said, “Every time someone sees her, we just kind of feel uncomfortable.”

The students’ remarks contradicted Shuttleworth’s comments to the Toronto Sun in a Sept. 17 article, in which she called the teacher “extremely effective” and said that “all the kids really love being in the class.”

A second protest against the teacher’s actions was held in Burlington on Sept. 25 outside of M.M. Robinson High School, which was attended by Maxime Bernier, leader of the federal People’s Party of Canada. Bernier said in a Twitter post on the same day that he called for the teacher’s dismissal during the protest.