Alberta govt. to defund Bible-based schools, refuses to explain how they violate ‘diversity’

-

The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF.ca) today released recent correspondence (1, 2, 3) between Alberta Education and independent faith-based schools.
In September of 2018, Deputy Minister Curtis Clark threatened religious schools with defunding and loss of accreditation if they do not remove religious content from their "Safe and Caring" school policies.
During the week of October 1-5, several schools whose Safe and Caring policies had been deemed non-compliant by the Alberta Education "Safe and Caring Team" requested clarification (1, 2, 3) as to how the religious views expressed in their policies could be found to violate "diversity" or be "unwelcoming, uncaring and/or disrespectful".
The October correspondence shows the Alberta government refuses to provide any explanation as to how, for example, "diversity" is threatened by a school's policy that reflects the school's belief in the Bible as truth.  The October correspondence shows Alberta Education justifying its ban on faith references in school policies solely on the basis of "the opinion of the Minister.
Various schools responded to this "rainbow reprimand" by asking simple and direct questions about how or why the religious content of their school policies was contrary to "diversity" or contrary to providing a safe, welcoming, caring and respectful learning environment.  
Alberta Education responded with a form response (1, 2) that cited only "the opinion of the Minister" to support Alberta Education's conclusion that these schools' religious beliefs, expressed in their own school policies, were unacceptable.
"Certainly, the School Act empowers the Minister to decide whether, in his opinion, school policies comply or do not comply with the School Act," stated lawyer and Justice Centre President John Carpay."David Eggen refuses to explain how diversity is harmed when religious schools accept the Torah or the Bible as truth.  This hostility to explaining his opinion is not supported by the School Act, which requires the Minister to make reasonable decisions.  Reasonable decisions are ones that can be readily explained," continued Carpay.
"The fact that the Education Minister has the power to shut down schools for not complying with the School Act does not entitle the Minister to behave irrationally by refusing to provide an explanation for his position," concluded Carpay.
The Justice Centre represents parents and dozens of schools in a constitutional challenge to various provisions of Bill 24, including secrecy provisions that make it illegal for teachers and principals to inform parents about their own children as young as five.
Published with permission from the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms.

Popular posts from this blog

Ontario Catholic school board to vote on flying gay ‘pride flag’ at all board-run schools

-
Image
A Catholic school board in Ontario will vote next week on a motion to fly the rainbow-colored homosexual pride flag at all board-run schools during the month of June. Halton Catholic District School Board (HCDSB) Trustee Brenda Agnew gave notice of her motion titled “supporting our diverse school community” during an April 6 board meeting. Quoting Pope Francis along with LGBT talking points about “equity and inclusion,” the motion calls for the Board’s Director of Education Pat Daly to “direct all HCDSB schools including the Catholic Education Centre to fly the Pride flag during the month of June starting with 2021.” The motion is expected to be voted on by the Board at their next meeting on April 20. With nine trustees, the motion requires five votes to pass. A tied vote results in a fail. The HCDSB states on its website that its mission is to provide “excellence in Catholic education by developing Christ-centred individuals enabled to transform society.” The Catholic Church, basing i...
Read more

Christian baker must make ‘wedding’ bakes for gay couples, court rules

-
Image
DENVER, CO ,  – A Colorado board has ruled that a Christian business owner must make wedding cakes for homosexual "marriages" despite his religious objections. Business owner Jack Phillips came under legal fire in 2012, when he refused to bake a cake for Dave Mullins and Charlie Craig , who had traveled to Massachusetts for a marriage license, and wanted to celebrate in their home state. They sued on the basis of a state law that prevents the application of religious beliefs if one owns a business. The Commission's ruling, which was issued verbally on Friday, orders Phillips to report every three months for the next two years on anti-discrimination training for his staff, and any customers who are refused service at his establishment. "I can believe anything I want, but if I'm going to do business here, I'd ought to not discriminate against people," said one of the Civil Rights Commission 's seven members in a public statement. Phil...
Read more

Australia: Gay Hate tribunals are coming

-
Image
Are Hate Tribunals Are Coming In Canada , it is considered discriminatory to say that marriage is between a man and a woman or that every child should know and be raised by his or her biological married parents.  It is not just politically incorrect in Canada to say so; you can be saddled with tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees, fined, and forced to take sensitivity training. Anyone who is offended by something you have said or written can make a complaint to the Human Rights Commissions and Tribunals. In Canada, these organizations police speech, penalizing citizens for any expression deemed in opposition to particular sexual behaviors or protected groups identified under “sexual orientation.” It takes only one complaint against a person to be brought before the tribunal, costing the defendant tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees. The commissions have the power to enter private residences and remove all items pertinent to their investigations, checkin...
Read more