The Small Group Of Canadians Fighting Back Against Radical Ideology In Schools

Not Woke Warriors and the Importance of October’s School Trustee Elections

Photo by Katie Rainbow 🏳️‍🌈 on Unsplash

In 2016 the Canadian federal government passed Bill C-16, which among other things, added gender identity and expression to the list of prohibited grounds of discrimination. Later we realized that in some western countries, there was an alarming, as much as 4000% increase, in kids claiming a gender non-conforming or trans identity¹. At this point Bill C-16 was already preventing open discussion of trans issues because of an environment where asking questions often led to accusations of transphobia. 

By December of 2021 the Canadian government passed Bill C-4 which was confusing for Canadians because it was characterized as a bill against conversion therapy. Many Canadians remain unaware of the implications for families with gender non-conforming children, who are being pushed into non-scientific ideas found within the framework of gender ideology. Bill C-4 says anything short of affirming a child’s confusion over identity amounts to conversion therapy.

In 2022, western democratic countries most affected by trans activism, are now experiencing a wave of pain, de-transitioners and lawsuits. We are currently in a sort of gender ideology limbo and Canada is slow like molasses at getting the message and catching a grip on this out-of-control disaster caused by the society-wide adoption of radical gender ideology pushed aggressively by trans activists.

A British gender clinic, the Tavistock, was ordered shut down. It appears the British government and public took notice of activist-driven radical gender ideology and the related practice of unnecessarily medicalizing healthy children, resulting in irreversible harm. This is a big win.

But Canada, as usual, is a little behind. The awareness and outrage around the anti-scientific nonsense of radical gender theory has not yet reached a critical mass, like it has south of the border and in the U.K. But we are making headway.

Barbara Kay, who on August 6th was the first Canadian columnist to write about the Tavistock — which speaks to the general lack of courage, interest and awareness on the part of Canadians when it comes to what many call the biggest crime against children in centuries — has written in her latest National Post column about the importance of the upcoming trustee elections on October 24th, and how the election of non-woke trustees will provide the much needed pushback at the board level against the radical indoctrination of children.

“The only way school boards will be cleansed of racially divisive and potentially psychologically damaging gender theories is through the election of candidates who are determined to bring the boards back to their wonted disinterested centrism” - Barbara Kay

In Barbara’s piece, two exceptional candidates for trustee are mentioned: Chanel Pfahl - the Ontario teacher who was illiberally persecuted for offering a harmless critique of CRT in a private Facebook group - along with Peter Wallace, a concerned father from Kawartha Lakes. Chanel has openly declared her support for the shared platform Blueprint For Canada - which was designed by Peter Wallace and described as “a deeply researched and intelligent manifesto” by Barbara Kay. 

In an email exchange yesterday with Chanel, she had this to say about the platform:

“Blueprint is about bringing common sense back to schools. Our message will resonate with parents and teachers who have had enough of woke politics and want to focus on ensuring a quality education for students.” - Chanel Pfahl

Barbara points out that “we have yet to see anything like a grass-roots protest movement here in Canada, although there does exist a passionate but small base of parents and teachers who are striving to raise consciousness of the need for reform.” She of course is right, and I know a small group that fits the description of the “small base” she refers to.

Canadians, much to our credit, really want to get along. We want a peaceful country. We want equal rights and equal treatment under the law. We are fundamentally good people, who will tolerate a lot of nonsense in our collective efforts to not rock the national boat. It takes a lot to inspire Canadians to act, even to raise our voices. But again, to our credit, we don’t want to go off half-cocked and unprepared. When we feel concerned about something, it doesn’t immediately erupt in explosions of anger. We, on average, are patient and thoughtful. But one thing we are not is stupid. We cannot be easily fooled. Many have mistaken our patience, and our reluctance to act while preparing, as dis-interest, or even weakness. This is a mistake that will soon be made abundantly clear to those who are making it.

One purpose of these substack ramblings is to both tell the stories of the heroes in the trenches who, as Barbara identified, form small but passionate groups, and to shine a light on the details, implications, and importance of their efforts in fighting back against illiberal woke ideology. I want the readers to know about these people. I want to connect them with others who may possess similar passions and frustrations. I want to be a good Canadian, and find other good Canadians, with a desire to organize for positive change, where the core purpose is exposing the very real harm to children and the greater society caused by radical activism and its ideological manifestations - like Critical Race Theory & Radical Gender Theory.

From my perspective, everything starts with Barbara Kay. I was not aware of the great illiberal subversion until I started reading Barbara’s columns, and later her book Acknowledgments (which for me, among other things, connected political correctness with what is happening today: wokeism). That Barbara and I came to be involved in the same Indian Residential School Research group, and that we became friends (I like to think so anyway), and that she is hands down the biggest supporter of both my work and Woke Watch Canada, is separate from the fact that before I ever wrote a word about wokeism, I was learning what it was from Barbara Kay. 

After I absorbed some of Barbara’s analysis of Canadian culture and politics, my next move was to seek out others to organize for positive change. Within one step of that process I was introduced to Catherine Kronas. If Barbara bears responsibility for my psychological awakening, which provided permission to travel a path into a far richer world of heterodoxy, Catherine is where all the real world organizing and action begins (and continues).

Catherine started Lighthouse - an informal group of parents and teachers across the country, concerned with the ideological indoctrination of children in schools - where all of the other non-woke soldiers who I admire so much found each other. Here I’ve listed a few in no specific order (some are anonymous so for now remain absent) - I really hope I get the chance to write extensively about all of these not woke warriors and Lighthouse members soon - already mentioned Catherine Kronas and Chanel Pfahl, also Shannon Boschy, Corrie Mooney (my Woke Watch Canada partner),  Pierre Barns, Billboard Chris and Mr. M (anonymous lead researcher of Lighthouse Think Tank). Linked is their twitter accounts - follow along and support these heroes!

It’s worth noting that out of this small group of people listed, three of them (Catherine, Chanel and Shannon) are running for trustee in their respective districts.

In an email exchange yesterday with Shannon here is what he had to say when I asked about the upcoming trustee elections:

“We need ideological checks and balances in public education. Kids are being indoctrinated with only one political model of the world, that held by progressives, unions and activist teachers. 

Parents and the public are losing faith in public schools. I fear if we don’t bring a balance, the ideology that has slowly taken hold of public education, will seek to make it impossible to dislodge ever.

We will lose the opportunity and have to seek private and charter school options for those who can afford them leaving us with a two tier education system.”

Woke Watch Canada was built out of the efforts of a handful of volunteers I met through Lighthouse. Same with the Lighthouse Think Tank research group that myself and Catherine helped form, and have just begun collaborating on a body of work tracing the history, details and development of Critical Social Justice in Canadian education. The first piece is here, and here is the second.

When I asked Catherine about her reasons for running for trustee in Hamilton, she had the following to say:

“I think it's time for transparency about the philosophical basis of “equity” strategies and how "social justice” or woke ideology is not a continuation of the civil rights movement.

I'm not aware of one current elected Member of Provincial Parliament in Ontario being outspoken enough on the infiltration of woke ideology in our institutions to hold the activists accountable for their ideas. I think it's time for trustees to step up, be assertive and stop the indoctrination in Ontario schools. Politics has no place in education. Parents need to be informed and their concerns respected.

This election is vital because the values we teach our children shape their worldviews and the future of our society. We must ensure there are strong voices protecting a system based in equality, freedom of expression and individual rights.  October 24th represents the last stand for education in Ontario. There is too much at stake.”

Pierre Barns I met close to a year ago, and invited him into Lighthouse. He, like a lot of the not woke warriors I gravitate to, is a researcher. He has compiled a ton of data related to what he, myself, and others deem as age-inappropriate sexual content found in Canadian school libraries. People are shocked when they see the material. With very few exceptions, most adults agree that this material is being made available to children who are not mature enough to understand it. Couple this with the onset of radical gender theory in schools and the social contagions resulting from the presence of these ideologies, and we have a situation that desperately needs to be examined by non-activists, parents and the public.  Because, gentle reader, I can guarantee the vast majority of Canadians do not agree with these ideologies. They do not understand them, and they do not like what is occurring because of their adoption.

For the sake of brevity, I will end here for today. But expect to see more coverage on the upcoming trustee elections as well as a lot more writing that draws from Pierre’s research and delves into the work of the Lighthouse heroes listed above. I highly recommend readers follow and support Pierre and the others. Here is Pierre’s website where he compiles voluminous amounts of research - lists of sexually inappropriate books found in schools (including specific schools where specific titles can be found), lists of teachers found guilty of sexual misconduct from 1998 to today, and information related to provincial education policies like SOGI (Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity), and a lot more. Pierre is a research machine!  Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

Thanks for reading. For more articles relevant to the upcoming trustee elections, read The Sinister Six Feel Entitled To Their Racism by James Pew for details on the exceptional Waterloo trustee Mike Ramsey, who has been treated unfairly by a hostile and super woke board. Mike is running for re-election this October.

1.  4,000% Explosion in Kids Identifying as Transgender, Docs Perform Double Mastectomies on Healthy Teen Girls | CBN News