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Teacher Chris Kempling Appeals to Canada’s Supreme Court

School board vendetta extended to censoring Kempling’s appearance before parliament

QUESNEL, BC, September 30, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Beleaguered BC high school teacher Chris Kempling has appealed his case to the Supreme Court of Canada. This follows after a federal appeals court upheld a lower court ruling in June, saying his suspension by the school board for private comments against homosexuality published in a local newspaper justified his suspension from his duties as a teacher.

In 2001, while off duty, Kempling defended the traditional Christian understanding of the social, physical, and moral problems with homosexual behaviour in a local newspaper. Kempling was subsequently cited for professional misconduct by the College of Teachers after a panel determined that his writings were discriminatory against homosexuals. He was disciplined with a temporary suspension of his license.

Kempling’s lawyer, David Brown, filed the appeal with the Supreme Court September 9, and said he expects the court to decide by January whether they will hear the case, which would subsequently be heard sometime in 2007. In the meantime Brown said Kempling will have to pay the school board’s legal costs, amounting to $23,000, which “will deplete my legal defence fund entirely, leaving me without funds to proceed with the Supreme Court case or the Human Rights Tribunal case,” according to a letter written by Kempling to BC Parents and Teachers for Life.

Kempling is still fighting a Human Rights Tribunal case brought by his Quesnel school board for appearing on the CBC to talk about his counselling practice, in which he counsels Christians in methods to escape the homosexual lifestyle. “They provided no evidence that anyone was concerned about this interview – they feel it is acceptable to prevent me from telling people that orientation change is possible,” he wrote. “I am currently providing treatment to a Christian client for this purpose, so I find it entirely unacceptable for my school district employer to interfere with a service offered by a Christian counsellor to Christian people.”

Meanwhile, Kempling was suspended a further three months in July after appearing before a Parliamentary committee examining the same-sex “marriage” Bill C-38. Kempling was called before the committee as an “official representative” of the Christian Heritage Party. “In July I received a disciplinary letter for doing this. I haven’t had my hearing yet, but dismissal is a possibility.  I’m hoping my employer will acknowledge that official witnesses of Parliament have special protection from harassment.”

“God has supplied all my needs up to now – I’m just going to keep trusting Him for what it is still needed,” Kempling’s letter concluded. “I’m very grateful for all of you who have generously given so far. I would appreciate your prayers as I face the upcoming struggles. Jesus warned us that we would face persecution for standing up for him.  He was right.”

Read Kempling’s entire letter at:
http://www.bcptl.org/rights.htm#summary

See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Canadian Courts Approve Suspension of Teacher who Criticized Homosexuality in Letter to Editor
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/jun/05061408.html

Contribute to Chris Kempling’s Christian Public School Teachers’ Legal Defense Fund by visiting any Royal Bank branch, transit number 4720; account number is 101-030-5.

Send cheques to:
Christian Public School Teachers' Legal Defense Fund
c/o Jim Sagert
798 Beaubien Ave
Quesnel, BC V2J 1S5

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