REAL Women of Canada (a socially conservative advocacy group) says traditionalists on Catholic school boards are getting bullied by the 'woke' and those who don't like Catholic values should get out of Catholic education.In a statement, the women's organization expressed concerns that "bullying is carried out not only by woke, progressiv', left wing activists, but also by equally woke, progressive trustees, who are intimidating and harassing their fellow trustees, who are correctly endeavouring to uphold the tenets and rights of the Catholic faith, guaranteed by the Canadian Constitution."REAL Women pointed to incidents of "bullying by woke trustees" at the Niagara, Waterloo, Peterborough, Toronto, York Region and Hamilton-Wentworth School Boards."These trustees use a board’s Code of Conduct as a weapon to intimidate and silence those trustees who uphold traditional Christian values," the organization said."Any comments made by such trustees are regarded as offensive and politically incorrect and they have been suspended, sometimes for months at a time without pay, while it is claimed that they are violating the board’s Code of Conduct. This bullying undermines the legitimacy of all boards and trustees."REAL Women said such "subversive trustees" violated the constitutional rights of Catholics to educate children according to their own values. They also pointed to s.19 of the Ontario Human Rights Code, which says nothing in the Code should be “construed to adversely affect any right or privilege respecting separate schools enjoyed by separate school boards or their supporters under the Constitution Act, 1867 and the Education Act.”The organization says Catholic values should be a clear component of Catholic education."Catholic parents send their children to Catholic schools precisely because they are Catholic — schools where Catholic principles will be taught, and Catholic moral guidance offered," the organization said."For those who don’t like Catholic social or moral teaching the answer is simple: don’t send your children to a Catholic school."The organization said that Catholic education is already “inclusive” and “diverse,” but the rallying cry of “inclusivity and diversity” has become "the new dog whistle for progressive trustees to inject woke and secular policies, that are antithetical to Catholic values and teaching." REAL Women added progressives were "contradictory, as diversity, by definition, includes the Catholic board’s mission and policies that are, in fact, very diverse when compared to those desired by the woke progressives."REAL Women explained the activity it viewed as bullying."This problem usually arises when (sexual minority) activists demand that Catholic schools fly the Gay Pride flag. When trustees, who uphold traditional Catholic values and teaching, raise objections to this demand, they are subjected to harassment and bullying by the homosexual activists and supportive trustees. If bullying is unacceptable in the school yard, it is surely also unacceptable at the school board level."REAL Women said objections that such schools are publicly funded meant little because people of all beliefs paying the taxes that fund the system. "Catholic schools themselves are, in fact, a sign of diversity in Canada," the organization said, insisting that "This intolerance against those who uphold Catholic teaching is also taking place on Catholic school boards in other provinces, such as Manitoba and Alberta."Francine Champagne, a trustee elected to Winnipeg’s Louis Riel School Division Board, was suspended many times without pay by fellow trustees for social media posts that aligned with Catholic views on gender identity and expression. She eventually resigned.In Alberta, in November 2023, Monique LaGrange was “disqualified” as a trustee of the Red Deer Catholic School Board for conduct arising from her posting a meme on her personal social media. The top half of the picture had children holding and waving swastika flags; on the bottom, young children in class waved Pride flags, with the caption, "Brainwashing is brainwashing."
