Woman removed from Ontario school board meeting by police as chaos ensues over giant prosthetic breasted shop teacher, bomb threat

Curtis Ennis, the Halton District School Board’s director of education, was set to provide an interim report on the board’s new dress code policy for teachers and staff, and a large crowd of local residents were present for the event. As the meeting progressed, tensions rose, and one woman was removed from the gallery by police, reports the National Post.

The Halton District School Board (HDSB) has been embroiled in controversy ever since shop teacher Kayla Lemieux started showing up to work wearing a blond wig, short shorts, and obscenely large prosthetic breasts under a tight shirt last September.

For students, the school year has been disrupted not only by this teacher’s pornographic gender expression, but also by regular bomb threats, protests, and even threats of gun violence. Throughout it all, the board administration has been dilly-dallying, first supporting the teacher’s right to wear fetish gear in the classroom, then promising to review its dress code.

The first person to speak at Wednesday’s board meeting was Julia Malott, a trans-identified male who is in favour of the board implementing a dress code policy for teachers and staff. However, Malott’s original speech was censored prior to the meeting and Malott was only allowed to speak on condition of removing an offending paragraph which was provided to the National Post.

Arguing that a professionalism policy benefits all staff and students within the HDSB, because adults serve as role models for children, Malott felt it reasonable that the board enact a dress code for staff similar to that in place for students, to the approval of the assembled crowd.

Malott then went on to talk about different types of breast forms worn by trans-identified males and women who have undergone mastectomies during cancer treatment, but was not permitted to finish the entire point as what followed was deemed inappropriate for the meeting.

“There are also breast forms that exaggerate natural proportions and are used by the drag industry and sex workers. The distinction between these very different products is quite clear and a well-written professionalism policy should have no difficulty distinguishing between the two,” was the part Malott reluctantly agreed to remove.

When Malott raised the issue of censorship, Margo Shuttleworth, chair of the board, explained that the vetting process was to ensure “all the voices of the community are heard,” which was met with heckling from the gallery.

Shuttleworth threatened to halt the meeting and have those responsible for the disruption removed.

Some parents told the National Post that they were barred from speaking because they refused to alter their presentations to align with the board’s views.

At the end of a four-hour meeting, Ennis presented the interim report on the board’s dress code, and the members of the public present were less than impressed.

In a presentation lacking content, Ennis instead talked about laws, statutes, policy documents and regulatory bodies that the board needed to be “mindful of” and offered little in the way of information about the updated policy. He said progress was being made, and that stakeholders would be consulted, but did not elaborate on to whom he was referring.

Those in the gallery became increasingly agitated at this point, with some shouting “resign” and “shame,” another angrily expressing her belief that this was the “psychological and sexual abuse” of children.

According to the National Post, three police officers then arrived and one woman was escorted from the gallery.

“It is beyond frustrating and disappointing,” Celina Close of Students First Ontario told the National Post after the meeting. “The directors report that was shared contained nothing that indicates that an entire school board is doing anything to rectify the problems that we are experiencing. I have completely lost trust and faith in everyone involved.”

Heather Francey, the board’s communications manager, defended the board censoring the speeches of delegates, arguing that those wishing to speak must follow the board’s rules on public delegations.

“School board meetings are an important public tool that creates transparency and delivers access to our local community. As part of a local democracy, our goal is to be as accessible as possible. To allow the business of the board to be conducted, board meetings follow rules for decorum,” Francey told the National Post.

“Unfortunately, those who cannot be respectful and abide by the agreed-upon rules, will have to be asked to leave.”