“OSSTF/FEESO resoundingly rejects statements made by Premier Doug Ford and Minister of Education Stephen Lecce that attempt to manufacture false divisions between parents, educators, and students over issues of student privacy and gender expression,” the Ontario secondary school teachers federation said in a statement released Wednesday.
Lecce did also say that schools need to be safe spaces for kids and said that the teachers and school boards should take into account where there are "exceptional circumstances" in a home that could lead to potential harm for a child. “These harmful comments disregard the rights and needs of students and demonstrate a profound lack of respect and understanding of the role of public education. Such comments have real-world consequences for many 2SLGBTQI+ youth and act as a form of erasure of the identities of 2SLGBTQI+ students across the province,” the OSSTF said.