Ontario teacher fired and facing license revocation for satirical critical race theory criticisms online
Cheryl Gould is a former Catholic school teacher who is being cancelled by her regulator after it was discovered that she posts satirical content denouncing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) policies, including critical race theory and gender ideology, as Marxist beliefs.
Gould was fired from her position in 2021 after nearly two decades of high school teaching experience and a clear track record.
Now, the Ontario College of Teachers (OCT) is vying for a complete revocation of Gould’s license for the commentary that she posted on social media under a pseudonym that had no ties to her, or her work.
Having taught at inner-city schools within the Toronto Catholic District School board, Gould specialized in alternative education. She became especially involved in teaching those of different backgrounds and capabilities including highly sensitive youth facing life challenges with histories of mental illness or trauma. Gould had never so much as had a complaint from a parent or student, yet that all changed in 2021 when she spoke out in what she thought was a safe and confidential union meeting.
Concerned about ideological capture by Marxist ideology and political intimidation in the workplace, Gould felt compelled to speak out. “For someone like me, who is dissenting against the prevailing ideology that is radically far left, there is no place to voice [those concerns],” explains Gould.
Gould took issue with a book gifted to all teachers by the school Chaplain titled, “So You Want to Talk about Race” by Ijeoma Oluo, and felt it was a clear effort to politically indoctrinate teaching staff.
“This book is written by an American Marxist who has spoken about supporting violent left-wing revolution. It’s about race and appropriate ways to talk about race,” Gould explains, going on to describe how the book advocates for segregating groups based on race. “I don’t think that a book that promotes that sort of messaging should be purchased with tax dollars, so that’s what I said.”
“Revolutionary Marxism does not have a history of making society better, even for the marginalized,” she continues.
But after the meeting, Gould was told she could not raise those concerns and that her colleagues were calling her a racist as a result.
Gould was subsequently suspended for a few months before being terminated completely, not for what she voiced in the union meeting but rather because a colleague who knew of Gould’s pseudonym account had reported her.
Gould pleaded guilty to professional misconduct due to excessive language used in some of her remarks, but as the OCT moves forward with the revocation of her license, Gould claims that one of the adjudicators in her ongoing case is a “Black Power Marxist” and hints at judicial bias.
“We are being subjected to a soft revolution and it’s being done through DEI bureaucracy, and we’re paying for it,” Gould states.
We’re being subjugated by our own tax dollars to the tune of billions of dollars because every institution in Canada now has a whole layer of middle management called DEI and they enforce ideological conformity and they punish and expel dissidents. It’s really like Maoism with Canadian characteristics and it’s being made clear in this hearing with the OCT. Why do we even have a catholic system if we’re not going to promote catholic values and throw them under the bus for a Marxist political movement? I find that objectionable.
Gould has begun crowdfunding her legal defence on GiveSendGo and partnered with United Kingdom-based stand-up comedian Nicolas De Santo to bring a benefit tour to South Eastern Ontario in the weeks ahead. Gould also writes longer form critiques on Substack under C.C. Harvey, The Cancelled Club and provides commentary on X under Catherine The Grateful.
— Catherine The Grateful (@ccatherineharv1) May 15, 2024
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*Correction: An earlier version incorrectly dated the year of termination. The article has been updated to reflect the accurate timeframe.