Orthodox leaders urge Ontario gvmt to scrap gay rights bill
TORONTO, Ontario , May 15, 2012 - Leaders of Ontario’s 250,000 Orthodox Christians took aim at bullying in the province’s schools on Monday – starting with the government’s proposed Bill 13, the Accepting School Act. A clergy delegation appeared as witnesses before the Standing Committee on Social Policy at Queen’s Park, charging that the government’s anti-bullying legislation virtually ignores most bullying victims in schools, while at the same time targeting traditional religious groups for censure. “ Statistics Canada data on bullying and violence indicates that bullying against religious groups is more than twice as common as bullying against self-identified gays and lesbians,” noted Father Geoffrey Korz, Orthodox Dean of Ontario and chief presented to the Queen’s Park committee. He was joined by Father William Makarenko, former Chancellor of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada , and supported by Father John Koulouras of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Toronto, a