The Durham District School Board (DDSB) recently censured and barred trustee Linda Stone from all committee assignments after several tweets the trustee posted that questioned gender identity and the potential risk of puberty blockers.
Several DDSB trustees complained that trustee Stone was raising issues that are unacceptable, like criticizing the introduction of Critical Race Theory in schools and the DDSB’s broad acceptance of gender ideology.
The board initially launched an investigation of Stone in February of 2022, but the investigation was cancelled after Stone resigned her seat in May 2022. However, the investigation was relaunched after Stone was re-elected in Durham’s October 2022 municipal elections.
Of the many comments and posts of Stone’s that the DDSB censured, one included re-tweeting Jordan Peterson and the account “Libs of TikTok” that questioned the meaning of the term “cisnormativity.”
In the DDSB’s October 25, 2021 board meeting, Stone questioned a board glossary whose definition of “white supremacy” was, in part, written by the notorious anti-racism activist Robin DiAngelo.
Stone also questioned the DDSB’s policy of not informing parents when a student has changed their gender identity.
“I was a little bit disturbed to see that you would keep things private with the student and not let parents know what’s going on with the student. And that even goes into whether the student is going to undergo surgery or other procedures. I’m assuming this privacy starts at the age of 16?” said Stone.
Integrity Commissioner senior investigator Benjamin Drory issued a report the other week, condemning Stone’s comments as “animus against the trans community.”
“Trustee Stone’s comments respecting gender identity issues plainly failed to meet the expected standard. Her comments insulted and demeaned trans people, and it would frankly be difficult for me to believe any argument to the contrary,” read the report.
Based on Drory’s report, the DDSB unanimously voted to censure Stone and bar her from any and all committee assignments.
