A school board meeting in the Peel Region, which encompasses Brampton and Mississauga ON, Wednesday night ended abruptly as school board trustees walked out to parents chanting “Shame on you!” .The meeting was to approve a gender identity ‘Action Plan,’ a policy that seeks to “collectively” work to “create anti-oppressive and inclusive learning and working environments” that “will support” children and teachers who are “Two Spirit & LGBTQIA+.” .The speaker asked the 12 school board trustees to show all those in favour, where seven people raised their hands. Once the motion passed, the room erupted as parents began to vocally protest, “No!”. . Peel district school board trusteesPeel district school board trustees .Of the approximately 90 people present in the crowd, many of them stood and shouted their grievances. .One parent shouts, “Shame on you,” while others repeat, “No!” .“Stop!” one person shouts. “Stop this at once!” .Finally the whole amphitheater was filled with shouts of the attendees chanting “Shame on you!”. Peel district school board leave the kids alonePeel district school board parents teachers leave the kids alone sign .Muslim parents held Canadian flags, people had Canadian flags draped across their shoulders, with others holding handmade signs protesting the gender identity agenda. Security guards patrolled the room as the chants grew louder and more persistent. .Signs around the room read, ‘Save the Children,’ ‘Leave our Kids Alone,’ ‘Stop Sexualization of Children,’ and ‘Grooming is for Dogs not Children.’. Peel district school board signsPeel district school board parents with signs .After about two minutes of this, the school board trustees rose from their seats and filed out of the room. .The ‘Two Spirit & LGBTQIA+ Action Plan’ aims to “dismantle homophobia, transphobia, biphobia, and other forms of oppression created by cis heteronormativity within the education system,” the action plan reads. .“The ‘Action Plan’ is a commitment to ensuring that collectively we work to create environments that will support Two Spirit & LGBTQIA+ students and staff in reaching their full potential,” it states. “All members of the PDSB community will implement the 'Action Plan'.”.It outlines the “key” actions in five categories: Education and Professional Learning, Working and Learning Environments, Mental Health and Sense of Belonging, Community Engagement, and Responsive Hiring and Workplace Equity..The plan “reinforces PDSB’s commitment to equity, anti-racism, and anti-oppression” and builds off of the PDSB ‘Equity Strategy,’ which includes 'Black Student Success Strategy' and the 'Affirming Muslim Student Identities Strategy.'.“Data has shown that Indigenous, Black, racialized, and special education students experience compounding elements of marginalization,” the new policy states. “The 'Action Plan' will work in concert with other strategies to ensure that the plan is impactful for students and staff who experience the most marginalization by the education system.”.The plan is set to begin during the 2023-24 school year.
