From: pierrebarns@gmail.com <pierrebarns@gmail.com>
Sent: Monday, June 20, 2022 9:19 PM
To: shuttlewortm@hdsb.ca; ehlharrisont@hdsb.ca; daniellid@hdsb.ca; gerritsh@hdsb.ca;
grayje@hdsb.ca; collardamy@hdsb.ca; grebenca@hdsb.ca; reynoldsle@hdsb.ca;
amosk@hdsb.ca; rochat@hdsb.ca; oliverj@hdsb.ca; baok@hdsb.ca;
widyalankarv@hdsb.ca
Cc: *****
Subject: Halton School District Ontario - Books Concerns
Dear Trustees,
The government gave authority for
education governance to locally elected school boards. School trustees are
elected to local school boards to act for the legislature and for their local
community.
School trustees exist for the
children, and their role is to guide, protect, defend, and advocate for them.
Therefore, educational policies are developed on what is best for the
growth, protection, and development of the whole child.
Trustees partner with the
parents as they provide the children with the best possible teachers and
educational opportunities. In doing so, they cannot usurp the role of the
parents and family.
It seems that the process of
guiding, protecting, defending, and advocating for our children is at serious
risk.
Most authorities believe our
schools are safe. Others are beginning to question that point of view.
Why? Look what’s been happening in
our schools. Safe zones, safe spaces, safe sex, safe puberty blockers, safe
cross-sex hormone, safe “gender clinics”, and now safe sexually explicit
material in the school library. Our children are no longer safe! They are in danger.
Child Sexual Abuse by K-12 School
Personnel in Canada https://www.protectchildren.ca/en/resources-research/child-sexual-abuse-by-school-personnel-in-canada-report/
As a parent and Canadian citizen, I
am concerned about the safety and well-being of those children under your
authority. I have reason to believe that children or youth have been or could
be likely abused or neglected based on what I have seen and the information I
have found on your library site. I believe that books and information found on
your library site cause severe risks to the safety and well-being of our
children under your authority and care. Children ages 5 years old and up to 17
years old at the schools cited below have been or are at risk of being exposed
to these books containing sexual references, sexual activity, and sexual
material. Some books also show children and adults engaged in or depicted as
engaged in explicit sexual activity. The main characteristics of those books
relate to sexual activity and expose children to individuals engaging in
sexually explicit acts, including exposure to adult pornography, and
encouraging children to masturbate or watch others masturbate.
These books have a sinister agenda.
They are not guided by any universal standards of right and wrong. Their foul
language lifts the boundaries most parents have set for their children and
presents a malevolent dimension that must be curtailed and eliminated. They are
used to desensitize children and make them easy prey for predators. Rather than
guiding and protecting our children, keeping these books in the libraries
offers up our defenseless children to the degradation of immoral authors and
others of their ilk. In addition, it makes it easier for potential abusers to
target our children.
On the one hand, in the name of
political correctness, we claim to protect our children from racism and our
inconvenient history, while on the other hand, in the name of diversity, we
expose them to pornography and toxic sexual behavior. I understand that
resources must be inclusive and suitable based on diverse social
considerations. Nevertheless, resources are to be age-appropriate and within
the boundary of the rules of law.
According to the Canadian Center
for Child Protection, non-contact sexual abuse is as follows:
- Encouraging a child to
masturbate or watch others masturbate
- Secretly recording or
observing a child in a private situation for a sexual purpose (voyeurism)
- Exposing a child to
individuals engaging in sexually explicit acts (including exposure to
adult pornography)
- Exposing a child to child sexual abuse material
- “Flashing” or exposing
genitals to a child
- Communicating over
technology to make it easier to commit a specific sexual offense against a
child (luring a child)
- Taking a picture or
recording a video of a child’s sexual organs for a sexual purpose
In good faith, I would advise
the School Board to immediately remove those books from the library, contact
the librarian, review those books with teachers and parents, and review
material selection policies. Please advise on how and when the board will proceed.
I include the following information
to help you better understand the abovementioned concern. Please do not
hesitate to ask if you need more information regarding those books in your
library system.
Kind Regards,
Pierre Barns
236-458-7269
Canadian Trustees raising their
concern about the contents of the book in school:
https://www.facebook.com/LauraLynnTylerThompson/videos/814081779570576
Here is a video of a Mother in the USA complaining to the school board about the
book The Glass Castle:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgRsqrMC4Lk
Here are some screenshots of the book
It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie h. Harris and Michael Emberly are available at
the following schools https://hdsb.insigniails.com/LibraryMS/ItemDetail?l=All&i=179558&ti=0
Here are some screenshots of the book Sex is a Funny Word by
Cory Silverberg available at the following Schools https://hdsb.insigniails.com/LibraryMS/ItemDetail?l=All&i=41107&ti=0
Here are some screenshots of the book a Quick and Easy
Guide to Queer and Trans Identities by Mady G & R and JR Zucherberg available at the following School https://hdsb.insigniails.com/LibraryMS/ItemDetail?l=All&i=281758&ti=0
Here are some screenshots of the book Rick available at
the following School https://hdsb.insigniails.com/LibraryMS/ItemDetail?l=All&i=278989&ti=0
Here are some screenshots of the book The Hate U Give Me
available at the following School https://hdsb.insigniails.com/LibraryMS/ItemDetail?l=All&i=112089&ti=0
Here are some screenshots of the book The Glass Castle
available at the following School https://hdsb.insigniails.com/LibraryMS/ItemDetail?l=All&i=236653&ti=0 and https://hdsb.insigniails.com/LibraryMS/ItemDetail?l=All&i=22862&ti=0
Here are some screenshots of the book Fun Home by
Alison Bechdel available at the following Schools https://hdsb.insigniails.com/LibraryMS/ItemDetail?l=All&i=242641&ti=0
Here are some screenshots of the book All Boys aren't Blue a
memoir-manifesto by George M Johnson available at the following School https://hdsb.insigniails.com/LibraryMS/ItemDetail?l=All&i=286022&ti=0
From: Amy Collard [Trustee] <collardamy@hdsb.ca>
Sent: June 21, 2022 6:30 AM
To: Gord Truffen <truffeng@hdsb.ca>
Cc: Margo Shuttleworth <shuttlewortm@hdsb.ca>; Tracey Ehl Harrison
<ehlharrisont@hdsb.ca>; Donna Danielli <daniellid@hdsb.ca>; Heather Gerrits <gerritsh@hdsb.ca>; Jeanne Gray <grayje@hdsb.ca>; Andrea Grebenc <grebenca@hdsb.ca>; Leah Reynolds <reynoldsle@hdsb.ca>; Kelly Amos Trustee
Oakville Wards 5 & 6 <amosk@hdsb.ca>; Tanya Rocha <rochat@hdsb.ca>; Joanna Oliver <oliverj@hdsb.ca>; Kacy Bao [Trustee]
<baok@hdsb.ca>; Vandy Widyalankara
[Trustee] <widyalankarv@hdsb.ca>;
Subject: Re: Halton School District Ontario - Books Concerns
Gord
I am concerned.
This individual has included links to publications and videos which may actually contain illegal content.
I'm not sure how to
investigate the content of the email safely. Would you please advise us whether or not this person ought to be reported to police?
Is there some action we should take?
Sincerely,
Amy Collard (she/her)
Halton District School Board Trustee
Burlington, Ward 5
From: Pierre Barns <pierrebarns@outlook.com>
Sent: July 3, 2022 4:22 PM
To: Amy Collard [Trustee] <collardamy@hdsb.ca>; Gord Truffen <truffeng@hdsb.ca>
Cc: Margo Shuttleworth <shuttlewortm@hdsb.ca>; Tracey Ehl Harrison
<ehlharrisont@hdsb.ca>; Donna Danielli <daniellid@hdsb.ca>; Heather Gerrits <gerritsh@hdsb.ca>; Jeanne Gray <grayje@hdsb.ca>; Andrea Grebenc <grebenca@hdsb.ca>; Leah Reynolds <reynoldsle@hdsb.ca>; Kelly Amos Trustee
Oakville Wards 5 & 6 <amosk@hdsb.ca>; Tanya Rocha <rochat@hdsb.ca>; Joanna Oliver <oliverj@hdsb.ca>; Kacy Bao [Trustee]
<baok@hdsb.ca>; Vandy Widyalankara
[Trustee] <widyalankarv@hdsb.ca>; kevin.britton@haltonpolice.ca; stephen.tanner@haltonpolice.ca; info@haltonpolice.ca
Subject: RE: Halton School District Ontario - Books Concerns
Dear Amy,
I have CC the Halton Chief of Police to this
email. Chief Tanner is the longest active serving Chief of Police in Canada, In
January 2012, he was appointed by the Governor General of Canada as an Officer
of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces.
I really hope he will take the time to go
through this email and the emails attached and reply to your concerns regarding
the illegal contents of the books made available to children at the Halton
School District.
In between, I would
advise the School Board to immediately remove those books from the library. For
more information about those books, please see the emails attached.
Here is my phone
number 236-458-7269 If the police or the school board wish to contact me.
Kind Regards,
Pierre Barns
From: pierrebarns@gmail.com <pierrebarns@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, December 6, 2022 11:01 PM
To: shuttlewortm@hdsb.ca; rochat@hdsb.ca; gerritsh@hdsb.ca;
daniellid@hdsb.ca; ahmedn@hdsb.ca; diodatim@hdsb.ca; collardamy@hdsb.ca;
truffeng@hdsb.ca; ehlharrisont@hdsb.ca; grayje@hdsb.ca; grebenca@hdsb.ca;
reynoldsle@hdsb.ca; amosk@hdsb.ca; rochat@hdsb.ca; oliverj@hdsb.ca;
baok@hdsb.ca; widyalankarv@hdsb.ca; kevin.britton@haltonpolice.ca;
stephen.tanner@haltonpolice.ca; info@haltonpolice.ca; zhangx@hdsb.ca; baxterc@hdsb.ca;
oliverj@hdsb.ca
Subject: FW: Halton School District Ontario - Books Concerns
Dear Respected
Trustees and Police Officers of Halton.
I am writing to you
in the capacity of a parent of 4 school-aged children from British Columbia.
Ever since I came to learn about some of the books in my kids' school libraries
and what is being taught to minors, I decided to research all School Districts
in the province, including the Halton School District.
To date, I have
connected with and befriended numerous parents and caregivers who share my
concerns about some of the material being presented to children in the name of
diversity and inclusivity. Some of the aforementioned
connections are actually parents of students from Halton who reached out
to me after my online interview with a national news media outlet.
In the spirit of
interfaith and intercultural diversity, many people who have solicited my
support are Christians, Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jews, etc. They all share
one thing in common with me, namely, a serious concern about pornographic
materials being promoted in our public school system.
I understand that
it is challenging to talk about this because of the intense institutional
pressure placed upon you to accept all academic materials. However, intervening
effectively in the lives of these children is not the sole responsibility of
any single agency or institution, but rather it is a shared community concern,
and parents have a fundamental right to raise their children as they see fit.
Schools should facilitate communication and involvement with parents and the
community.
Each day, child
abuse threatens the safety and well-being of our children across Canada.
According to the Canadian Centre for Child Protection report on Child Sexual
Abuse by K-12 School Personnel in Canada, 67% of offenders worked in Public
Schools, 26% in Catholic/Christian Schools, and 7% in Private Schools.
Child Sexual
Abuse by K-12 School Personnel in Canada 1997-2017:
Child Sexual
Abuse and Victimization by K-12 School Personnel in Canada 2017-2021:
https://www.protectchildren.ca/en/resources-research/school-report/
Child sexual abuse
is an epidemic that impacts far too many families and communities. Together
parents, teachers, and community members can make a difference, which is why it
is imperative that we make it safe to discuss this topic openly and frankly.
According to the
Canadian Center for Child Protection, non-contact sexual abuse is as follows:
•
Encouraging a child to masturbate or watch others masturbate
•
Secretly recording or observing a child in a private situation for a sexual
purpose (voyeurism)
•
Exposing a child to individuals engaging in sexually explicit acts (including
exposure to adult pornography)
•
Exposing a child to child sexual abuse material
•
"Flashing" or exposing genitals to a child
•
Communicating over technology to make it easier to commit a specific sexual
offense against a child (luring a child)
•
Taking a picture or recording a video of a child's sexual organs for a sexual
purpose
Operated by the
Canadian Centre for Child Protection, ProtectKidsOnline.ca state that exposure
to sexually explicit material may:
•
Prematurely sexualize a child.
•
Incite a child to experiment with sexually explicit behaviour to make sense of
it.
•
Lead a child to normalize and become desensitized to high
risk behaviour.
•
Shape a child's expectations in relationships.
•
Shape a child's expectations of physical appearances and certain sexual acts.
•
Blur boundaries and increase a child's risk of victimization.
•
Increase a child's health risks (i.e. sexually transmitted infections, sexual
exploitation, etc.).
•
Increase a child's risk of problematic sexual behaviour against other children in an effort to experiment.
•
Interfere with a child's healthy sexual development.
It also states the
following:
•
Pornography is not reality. It creates confusing expectations, attitudes and beliefs about what to expect in a healthy
sexual interaction.
•
Pornography makes sexual violence seem okay, that being aggressive will get you
what you want and that "no" means "yes."
•
Pornography reinforces gender stereotypes such as guys call all the shots and
girls are meant to be used for a sexual purpose.
•
It portrays people as objects; a thing to be used and not as a person.
Pornography is
often thought of as pictures or videos of nudity or sexual acts. But depicting
those sexual acts in animated content and literature is also pornography. That
happens whether it is a graphic video or an explicit passage in a book.
Teachers and
Trustees have a moral and legal obligation to protect children in their care.
You might be the only adult in that child's life who oversees them enough even
to notice, let alone report, the abuse or neglect. This is a given
responsibility that is not to be taken lightly.
Many of you may be
parents yourself; therefore, we reach out to you as parents to other parents
who may share some of our concerns about sexually explicit material shown to
children under your care.
Parents who
contacted me would appreciate an opportunity to discuss the abovementioned
issues privately or publicly with trustees who may share the same concerns.
Please reply to this email or contact me directly by phone so we can organize a
meeting. We will follow up with you next week if we still await a reply.
Kind Regards,
Pierre Barns
236-458-7269
Here is an educational video I believe all
of you should watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4Ui9zP7ai0
Important Documents:
Cases of teacher misconduct related to
inappropriate material shown to children:
https://u.pcloud.link/publink/show?code=kZwrvWVZRxuamYLAPlJwCqN9kh4RDRSya0GV
Sexual misconduct cases vs inappropriate
material example:
https://u.pcloud.link/publink/show?code=XZGrvWVZPbwcF2SowGbWPBAngM53xjBKx2nX
SOGI policy vs reality:
https://u.pcloud.link/publink/show?code=XZirvWVZKzw54CWKHJfoRnEeLKTHEXIgOrEX
SOGI medical abuse:
https://u.pcloud.link/publink/show?code=XZcrvWVZLhumsoUkhs85g6fW3mzAMucaQD1y
Archives – Abuse Lawsuits:
https://sogi123taskforce.com/archives-abuse-lawsuits/
Impact of Viewing Sexually Explicit
Material:
https://www.kidsintheknow.ca/pdfs/KIK_ImpactOfViewing_en.pdf
Pornographic content can harm children:
Exposure to Sexually Explicit Material
Consequences:
https://protectkidsonline.ca/app/en/info_exposure
References:
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/public-safety/protecting-children/reporting-child-abuse
https://lss.abbyschools.ca/sites/default/files/Duty%20to%20report_0.pdf
https://oct.ca/resources/advisories/duty-to-report?sc_lang=en&
https://www.alberta.ca/what-is-child-abuse-neglect-and-sexual-exploitation.aspx
https://justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/cj-jp/fv-vf/caw-mei/p12.html
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Correspondence with the Halton School District