Boys Using Girls Bathroom Ontario High School

Guelph, ON — At Centennial Collegiate Vocational Institute (Centennial CVI), a public high school in Guelph, some female students say they no longer feel safe using the school’s washrooms. Why? Because in the name of gender inclusivity, girls’ bathrooms have been relabeled as “gender variant inclusive” — effectively allowing biological males to enter and use these private spaces.

As a result, girls are being directed to alternative single-stall bathrooms around the corner — facilities that students say reek of urine and are not maintained to the same standard as the now gender-neutralized washrooms.

Parents and community members have raised concerns, calling the policy a violation of girls’ privacy and safety, but government officials appear unwilling to act. Repeated requests for comment or intervention sent to Ontario Premier Doug Ford and three successive Ministers of Education have gone unanswered.

A concerned father who attempted to raise the issue directly with the Ontario government says he has been met with silence and deflection. Since the tenure of former Education Minister Stephen Lecce, he has been unable to secure a meeting with any education minister. Current Minister Paul Calandra responded only with a brief acknowledgment before passing the matter off to the Inclusive Education and Well-Being Branch — a bureaucratic agency that offered no action, only a restatement of existing policy. “There is no problem-solving going on, only time-wasting,” the father said. “They are dodging accountability while girls are being pushed aside.”

Only recently did the Ministry of Education acknowledge the issue — and then only through a generic response from the Inclusive Education and Well-Being Branch (IEPEB). Rather than address the core concerns, the Ministry passed the responsibility to the local school board, stating:

“As independent corporations, school boards are responsible for the implementation of equity and inclusive education policies… You may wish to contact the principal of the school or supervisory officer of the school board to communicate your concerns.”

The Ministry further emphasized that current policy frameworks, including Policy/Program Memorandum 119, require schools to support “gender identity and gender expression” as part of their obligation under the Ontario Human Rights Code. However, critics say that girls’ rights to privacy and dignity are being ignored in the process.

“The Ministry claims it is ensuring safe and inclusive environments, but what about safety for girls?” asked one concerned parent. “These policies are not inclusive — they’re exclusive. Girls are being pushed out of their own spaces and made to feel ashamed for objecting.”

Many are also pointing to the Ministry’s reliance on bureaucratic deflection as part of a larger problem. The IEPEB’s role appears to be little more than a communications buffer, recycling legal jargon while sidestepping responsibility. The result is a growing number of parents who feel abandoned by the very institutions tasked with protecting their children.

“This is not inclusion — it’s displacement,” said one former student of Centennial CVI. “We are watching girls’ rights eroded in real-time, while officials send form letters and point fingers.”

With the school year about to begin, students and families across Ontario are asking whether their voices — especially those of young women — will ever be heard.

Here is the full email for you to read:

https://www.ontario.ca/document/education-ontario-policy-and-program-direction/policyprogram-memorandum-119

Url from the email.