In a recent episode of the Red Eye Collective Podcast, Lorraine Chisolm sat down with James Chamberlain, one of the authors of the new handbook Expelling Transphobia. The handbook provides crucial strategies for addressing the rising wave of transphobic and homophobic attacks targeting British Columbia (BC) school boards and communities. As a retired school principal, long-time 2SLGBTQIA+ educator, and union activist, Chamberlain brings over 25 years of experience in advocating for inclusive education policies and supporting queer youth in schools.
The interview sheds light on the current “culture war” unfolding across Canada, particularly focusing on the legislation being pushed in provinces such as Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, and Alberta. Chamberlain highlighted how these conservative governments are restricting or eliminating gender-affirming policies in schools, which puts trans and non-binary youth at heightened risk. He warns that British Columbia could face similar challenges if a conservative government is elected.
The first chapter of the handbook, titled A Five Alarm Fire, outlines the gravity of the current situation. Chamberlain explains that the attacks against trans and non-binary youth are part of a broader effort by far-right groups using the rhetoric of “parental rights” to undermine 2SLGBTQIA+ inclusivity in schools. These groups frame the issue as one of parental control, masking the deeper harm to vulnerable students. Chamberlain stresses that these youth, already at higher risk of mental health challenges and suicide, are often rendered voiceless and defenseless in schools, making them an easy target for political agendas.
The handbook is a collaborative effort by the group Lawyers Against Transphobia, and Chamberlain elaborated on its structure, which includes sections detailing the legal rights and responsibilities of school trustees. He pointed out that the committee is in the process of expanding the handbook with additional chapters to guide principals, teachers, parents, and students on protecting trans rights in schools. The goal is to educate all stakeholders about the legal frameworks and strategies necessary to combat transphobia and support inclusive education.
One of the major themes discussed was the increase in organized transphobic actions at school board meetings, where individuals have disrupted proceedings, threatened school trustees, and forced some school boards to hold meetings online or hire additional security. This kind of hostility is particularly intense in smaller communities, where trustees have received death threats and are often fearful of engaging in public life.
Chamberlain underscores that this handbook serves not only as a guide for legal action but also as a practical tool for those on the front lines—trustees, teachers, and school staff—who are being targeted for their commitment to inclusive education. It offers solutions grounded in educational research and legal precedent, providing a blueprint for maintaining safe and supportive environments for all students.
The conversation ended with Chamberlain offering guidance on how individuals can become stronger allies to trans youth, urging people to educate themselves on the realities of gender identity and expression. He pointed to the Lawyers Against Transphobia website, which houses a wealth of resources, including videos on allyship and comprehensive educational materials for those unfamiliar with trans issues.
Chamberlain’s interview was a powerful reminder of the ongoing struggle for 2SLGBTQIA+ rights in Canadian schools, particularly in light of the escalating transphobic rhetoric. His work in creating Expelling Transphobia serves as a critical tool for those seeking to uphold inclusive, affirming, and legally protected spaces for students in BC and beyond.
Read The Full Transcript
[Jane Williams]
Hello and Welcome to today’s episode of red eye. I’m Jane Williams. Coming up in this episode, Lorraine Chisolm Speaks with James Chamberlain, One of the authors of expelling transphobia a new Handbook of strategies to address transphobic attacks in the BC school system.
[Lorraine]
A new handbook has been launched to assist School Trustees in BC, who are being targeted with transphobic and homophobic abuse. It outlines some of the ways that school boards are currently under attack by transphobic and homophobic people and it offers ways to prevent and address this violence. The handbook was written collaborative by a committee of the group lawyers against transphobia and I’m joined by one of the authors, James Chamberlain, as a retired school principal, he’s been a gay primary teacher and a union activist, helping BC schools, to develop 2SLGBTQIA+ policies and educating teachers for more than 25 years. And I’m delighted to welcome you this morning James. Hello.
[James]
Thank you so Much, Lorraine. I appreciate being here.
[Lorraine]
Now, chapter 1 of the handbook is titled, a five alarm fire. Remind us of this situation that should cause us to be so deeply concerned.
[James]
Well, we’re basically having a trans culture war across Canada and different Provinces have reacted in different ways. Scott Moe’s government, conservative government to Saskatchewan, has been the most extreme to invoke the notwithstanding Clause to prevent them from any legal attacks. And they have basically stopped all gender affirming instruction, or care in the province. Students who are in schools are not allowed to use their preferred pronouns and teachers who support students in that way and use their preferred pronouns and their preferred names can be subject to discipline. So that’s just the “thin edge of the wedge.” New Brunswick has passed policy against 2SLGBTQIA+ students and Alberta is in the process of doing it. And British Columbia may proceed in that manner if we elect a conservative government because they have been saying that they are going to cancel SOGI, which, which stands for sexual orientation and gender identity, resources in schools that support the provincial curriculum.
[Lorraine]
Now, I’d like to just sort of back up a bit, the science on sex and gender has evolved. So, how do we need to educate ourselves about this to prevent harms based on ideas of gender that have now been disproved?
[James]
Well, everybody’s on a learning curve in that regard because, thinking back to when I was in school in the 1970s, there was no concept of gender other than the binary male female. And we now know that gender is more fluid and that people are on a Continuum and they don’t necessarily identify as completely 100 percent male in a stereotypical manner or female, and so people have to unlearn what they Have been taught in schools, or what they never learned, because it was never talked about and that’s a difficult process for some people. It’s an opportunity to learn, rather than what is currently happening, which Is that some of the transphobic and homophobic individuals are operating from a place of ignorance and fear, and needing to lash out. And they are lashing out at trans and non-binary youth who are the most vulnerable in our public and Private school system.
[Lorraine]
Why are trans kids the perfect political Target?
[James]
Well trans kids are the perfect political Target for a couple of reasons. Because the extreme right are characterizing this as a parent’s rights issue, and that parents have the right to know everything about their child and what’s being taught in school. And some of that is true. They absolutely have a right to know what teachers are teaching, and they should be having a good relationship with the classroom teacher and having conversation about anything that they support as well as anything that they’re concerned about to know what’s really going on. The trans and non-binary Youth Community, are very small and they are voiceless, largely in schools, and it’s not safe for them, in many situations, and trans and non-binary, youth are at a much higher risk of suicide. And so, they are the perfect Target because people are using parents rights as the the vehicle through which they are denying these students, their human rights
[Lorraine]
What do transphobic actions against schools and school boards look like right now in Canada?
[James]
Well and I’m going to talk about British Columbia because that’s the province I’m most familiar with and I live in BC here in British Columbia there have been Transphobic individuals who’ve tried to take over school board meetings, speaking out of turn, sabotaging meetings. School board meetings generally have agendas that they put out in advance to the public and people can get on speakers lists and state their peace in favor or against particular issues. There have been organized uh, transphobic actions where people have been bombarding School District meetings, trying to force trustees off of their agenda, threatening School trustees, and a number of school boards have had to resort to changing their public meetings to online meetings, which is not their preference. Some school boards have had to hire additional security to keep School trustees safe. And some school trustees in small communities have received death threats and we know of school trustees who are actually fearful of just being out in their communities. Because everyone knows everyone in small communities and some school trustees who are progressive are under attack basically, from these transphobic individuals.
[Lorraine]
These are some pretty serious situations. Now, Why did your committee at lawyers against transphobia decide to write this book? What’s your goal?
[James]
Well, one of our goals is to educate everyone and the handbook is divided into sections around the, the rights of students and the roles and responsibilities of school trustees. We are going to also be adding chapters for principles and vice principals, superintendents, teachers, parents, and students and so all of those chapters are in the process of being written and so they will be added into the handbook this fall. We started with trustees though because they are basically on the front lines of attack as well as trans, queer and Allied teachers who are trying to teach the provincial curriculum in an inclusive manner. And so we want to support everyone who’s under siege in the education system and we want to give them the information about what their rights are, what their responsibilities are and how they can protect themselves in practical, and legal manners.
[Lorraine]
School trustees are obviously trying to.. the ones who are resisting restrictive, conservative legislation are trying to protect this safety of trans youth, as well as making it inclusive. What are the harms to trans youth when this very negative anti-trans Legislation is applied to the education system?
[James]
Well, the harms are that students will drop out of school, that they will attempt or commit suicide, that they will not return to the school system, and in some situations, may become homeless, depending on how their families respond, because in some jurisdictions where they’re requiring teachers to, basically, out a student to their parent, whether the parents are supportive or not, that’s the situation in Saskatchewan, it’s basically increasing the level of harm to trans and non-binary youth beyond the level of the, you know, negative societal transphobic situations that are out there, schools should be the safest place for these kids and we all know that, any student who doesn’t feel safe, can’t learn to their full academic potential and it’s the responsibility of Educators at all levels of the system to help students to thrive academically and be successful at school. And so there’s a lot of pressure on these Youth and it’s unnecessary, this transphobic wave of hate, has just bubbled up in the last year or two and there were transphobic things happening in schools prior to that, but the volume, the vitriol, the intensity of it, is magnified dramatically from what it used to be.
[Lorraine]
James, I think both you and I came into the queer rights and queer activism times when we were working hard to open up Canadian Society against homophobia at a time where we made a lot of gains for our human rights, you know, eventually I believe we had a consensus in Canada about an inclusive view of queer rights. What’s your sense of the battle ahead signaled By this attack Centered right now, on transgender kids, in schools?
[James]
You know, we call it the five alarm fire because it’s the thin edge of the wedge. If people’s rights based on their gender identity or gender expression can be Stripped Away, then anyone else is next? And so what’s happening In Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, Alberta and British Columbia, If it continues, we’re basically going to end up in a trans-culture war, very similar to what’s happening south of our border and 500 pieces of legislation then put in place or proposed attacking trans and non-binary Youth and We will see that kind of a situation happening in Canada if we don’t put a stop to it.
[Lorraine]
We were both talking about the, the first chapter, which is the five alarm fire. What do we find in the second and third chapters of the book?
[James]
Basically, the second and third chapters of the book are the rights of School trustees and their role and responsibilities to students. So it lays out different scenarios. The the whole handbook is footnoted with examples and research, and so it’s well grounded in terms of what is happening in British Columbia schools, and it has examples of what school boards are doing. There’s best practice and what schools are doing and where they are struggling. So we want to provide a resource that educates people but is grounded in the law and in educational research so that people have a go-to guide so that they know what to do in different situations because from election to election, we have roughly 30 to 50 percent of school Trustees are new and superintendents may never have experienced this before this. This level of vitriolic attack around transphobia, so, we’re trying to educate everyone, We’re trying to give them accurate information and help them to move forward through either human rights complaints or through the grievance procedure in their own unions, if it’s a teacher, or just practical suggestions that are not legal ones on how to survive this basically
[Lorraine]
James you talk about how this really this kind of level of hate and and vitriol has you know, bubbled up in the last couple of years. And I think many people find themselves a little bit disoriented about it and don’t know what to do. I’m lucky to know many transgender people of all ages and count many as my friends. How can we be strong allies to transgender Youth? Whether we know folks who identify as trans or not?
[James]
For people that don’t know anything about trans people, I would recommend that they go to our website lawyers against transphobia.org – There’s a plethora of resources on it that will help people to become educated about trans people and their lived experiences. It’s not much different if you think about it. Historically then, let’s say 30 years ago, when most people said that they didn’t know anybody who was lesbian or gay and through queer rights and activism and people coming out over the decades, All of that has generally become normalized. Now in Canadian Society, same-sex marriage, a lot of legislation provincially and federally people, see it as a human rights issue. Trans issues, on the other hand have largely been ignored and there’s a lot of misunderstanding around them. And so it’s an opportunity for people to educate themselves. On the website, there’s a little video about how to be an ally and I think if people draw, parallels to racism, sexism and other forms of Oppression that we are still working on, but people understand them more. It’s a different Target group, it’s a different way of attacking but we’re all in the same boat and we’re all in this together in supporting people to have equal human rights.
[Lorraine]
Well, I I appreciate so much you’re joining me today and I’ll definitely Point people to the the website and the handbook and thanks again James. My
[James]
Pleasure, thanks for the opportunity.
[Lorraine]
I’ve been speaking with James Chamberlain, James is a retired School Principal, he’s been a gay, primary teacher, and a union activist helping BC school boards to develop 2SLGBTQIA+ policies, and educating teachers for more than 25 years, he’s one of the authors of expelling transphobia, a Handbook of strategies to address transphobic attacks in the BC school system. It was written collaboratively by a committee of the group lawyers against transphobia. And you can download a free copy of that book as well as find many other resources at lawyers against transphobia.org.