Not the education Josh Alexander anticipated, but another lesson was delivered to the former Renfrew County Catholic School Board student to end 2024.
The Ottawa Citizen, in its December 31st issue, reports that an Ontario Divisional Court panel has ruled that it saw no errors in the decision by the RCCDSB to uphold its expulsion of Alexander from schools in its jurisdiction on behavioural grounds.
Alexander, now 18, was initially suspended and later excluded from St. Joseph’s Catholic High School in Renfrew over failure to recant perceived transphobic remarks.
He had argued before court that the board’s actions amounted to “faithism”, and he was being victimized for professing his religious beliefs concerning the sanctity of gender at birth.
The three-member Divisional Court appeal panel rejected Alexander’s arguments and said the board’s decision to uphold his suspension and exclusion was reasonable.
Says the Citizen, “The judicial panel upheld the board’s point of view that it was Alexander’s behaviour towards other students — not his religious convictions — that was at the heart of the case.”
Those reasons, the court said, recognized limits to freedoms, including the freedom of religion, especially where the rights of others are impacted.
The lesson comes with a hefty price tag. The Divisional Court awarded the school board $15,000 in court costs, saying Alexander had not established he was a public interest litigant who deserved to have those costs waived.
The paper reports the decision was not unanimous, and that Alexander’s lawyer says it will be appealed.
By Rick Stow