Plushophilia? Outrage grows over trustee’s move in debate over anti-discrimination policy
Catholic vice-chair tried to stop changes to code of conduct by adding list of sexual behaviours
Outrage is growing over a Catholic school trustee’s attempt to introduce a lengthy list of sexual behaviours to the board’s code of conduct, ranging from criminal to bizarre: bestiality, pedophilia, sadism, vampirism and attractions to stuffed animals, mannequins, insects, flatulence and vomit.
The incident has members of the public demanding the resignation of trustee
Michael Del Grandeand was to be raised at a Toronto Catholic District School Board meeting Thursday evening.
“I am disgusted,” said the board’s chair, Maria Rizzo, about the trustee’s actions, telling the Star she has received between 150 and 200 complaints in recent days. “I’ve heard from students, parents, staff, communities and individuals who have felt hurt and offended and are calling for action.
“I want to extend our deepest apologies for comments made,” she added. “They were unexpected and completely inconsistent with the TCDSB values.”
An online petition called “Protect our youth! Remove disgraceful Mike Del Grande as a trustee” has more than1,000 signatures. According to a statement by Rizzo and TCDSB director of education Rory McGuckin, complaints were to be brought to the board Thursday evening “for their immediate review and action in accordance with board policies.”
“The TCDSB remains committed to creating inclusive learning environments and school communities that are safe and welcoming, founded on Catholic principles of respect, inclusion, fairness and social justice, in which every person is valued as a child of God,” they wrote.
Del Grande, the board’s vicechair, cannot be forced to resign — it could be up to his constituents, if he runs in the next municipal election, to decide his fate.
In a message to the Star on Thursday, Del Grande said, “The media, and others, is spinning what my amendment was about.”
“It was about keeping our Catholic schools authentically Catholic,” Del Grande wrote. “As trustees, we have a fiduciary obligation to the Catholic electors and to the church, to ensure that our policies are in line with Catholic Church teachings. Period. I take my responsibility to continue defending the Catholic character of our separate schools.”
The incident occurred during the wee hours of Nov. 8 — near the end of a marathon meeting lasting almost seven hours — while the board debated amending its code of conduct policy to include the controversial terms gender expression, gender identity, family status and marital status.
The issue surfaced after a Ministry of Education directive ordering all school boards to update their codes and align them with the province’s, which had expanded the grounds under which discrimination is prohibited. The four terms are in the Human Rights Code as prohibited grounds of discrimination.
Debate raged at the meeting over the four terms, with members of the public arguing on both sides. This, even though the Archdiocese of Toronto — the Catholic Church’s spiritual leadership in the GTA — said it would accept the terms, provided the policy “be interpreted through the lens of the Catholic faith as articulated by the teachings of the church and protected in legislation.”
Minutes before the vote, Del Grande made a last-ditch attempt at dissuading fellow trustees from amending the code to include the four terms. He introduced his own 12-page amendment, which included a list of erotic interests, gender identities and different types of family relations, such as polygamy and ménage à trois.
Standing before a giant screen with his proposed amendment that included various definitions — for instance, agalmatophilia, an attraction to statues and mannequins; and plushophilia, an attraction to stuffed toy animals — he said, “I’d like all these things to be considered, all these terms.”
“After all, everybody is concerned that the right terms are used … It’s a slippery slope. This is how slippery it’s going to get,” he said. “All these poor people are children of God, created in the image of God and they need to be recognized. ”
Del Grande was ruled out of order and the board voted 8 to 4 in favour of including the four terms.
It’s rumoured Del Grande will run for the position of board chair at the Nov. 28 meeting — Rizzo is not running — but he would not comment. Del
Grande is a veteran politician who served as trustee for a decade and served three consecutive terms as a city councillor. In the past, he’s also held the position of board chair.
Del Grande’s comments have drawn some praise, with people emailing to thank him for his “heroic stance against the perversion and abomination” affecting Christianity and for “standing up to activists.” They have also drawn widespread condemnation, with the board receiving emails from those who are “shocked and appalled,” saying Del Grande’s comments are “abhorrent, disgusting and homophobic.”
A written complaint by the 519, a city agency that serves the LGBTQ community, called Del Grande’s proposed amendment “deeply troubling and unacceptable.” It noted that LGBTQ youth face approximately 14 times the risk of suicide and substance misuse that other youth face and that up to 40 per cent of homeless youth in Toronto identify as LGBTQ. Statistics show hate crimes motivated by sexual orientation and gender identity are more likely to be violent than other hate crimes.
“These statistics point to a pressing need for the creation of safe, affirming, and inclusive schools,” executive director Maura Lawless wrote, calling for Del Grande’s resignation and for the board to publicly denounce his actions and affirm the rights of LGBTQ students.
“Actions like Vice-Chair Del Grande’s sends a strong message to your LGBTQ2S students: that their identities are not valid, that they do not matter, and that they are not welcome in your schools. The existence and legitimacy of LGBTQ2S identities is not a topic for debate.”