Ontario teacher faces licence threat over gender critical, women’s rights posts
The Ontario College of Teachers has threatened to revoke a former Ottawa educator’s teaching licence over gender critical social media posts.
The Ontario College of Teachers has threatened to revoke a former Ottawa educator’s teaching licence over gender critical social media posts. Amy McKay, now a registered psychotherapist, says she will not be intimidated into silence and is preparing to fight a full investigation into her online expression.
The case began more than two years ago, when the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board flagged a series of McKay’s tweets during the period she taught as a long-term occasional instructor.
At the time, McKay decided to go on leave to pursue professional counselling studies. The board banned her from teaching within its schools and, several months later, filed a formal complaint with the Ontario College of Teachers.
McKay resigned from the board at the end of her leave, moved into the psychotherapy field, and kept her teaching licence active. She had no idea the board had also submitted a complaint to the regulator.
For McKay, the investigation only came to light last spring, when the college informed her that she had been the subject of a preliminary investigation for nearly two years.
Speaking to True North, McKay’s lawyer, constitutional litigator Hatim Kheir, confirmed that the complaint doesn’t hinge on a single tweet. “It is not about one particular post. The board compiled a file of her social media activity and acted on that,” he explained. “They banned her from teaching within the board and then went on to file a complaint with the College.”
The College then offered McKay what Kheir describes as a “stark choice.” Either she could surrender her teaching licence forever to halt the investigation or refuse and face a formal disciplinary process that could result in findings against her.
Signing the undertaking would have closed the door permanently. “People work hard to obtain a professional designation,” Kheir said. “It opens up a field of employment possibilities. Sometimes people move in and out of practicing in that field, which is why they keep their designation valid. Removing that licence closes all of those doors.”
McKay refused to surrender her credentials. According to Kheir, she is standing firmly on her Charter-protected freedom of expression. She is prepared to go through a full investigation rather than give up her licence to avoid scrutiny.
In a similar case, the College of Psychologists of Ontario attempted to compel Dr. Jordan Peterson into “social media retraining” last year following social media posts. At the same time, colleges across the country have pursued similar actions against members who raise objections to gender ideology or childhood transition.
For McKay, the issue is worth pursuing. “Peacefully defending one’s rights or the rights of others is never an act of hate. It is a civic responsibility,” she said in JCCF’s release.
This story is developing as the Ontario College of Teachers has not yet announced whether it will proceed with a formal hearing. McKay and her legal team are waiting for the next step.