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Email: "Levant, Stefanowicz Trounce Imposition of Pro-Gay Policy on all Ontario Schools"

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Government representative says no debate will be allowed on rightness or wrongness of policy BY LifeSiteNews.com TORONTO, Ontario, June 2, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Conservative columnist and blogger Ezra Levant criticized the involvement of members of the Ontario Human Rights Commission in the Ontario government's upcoming Pro-homosexual 'Inclusive Boards-Inclusive Schools' symposium. Levant insists that, far from promoting true equity, the OHRC has descended to the point where "now it is in the full-time propaganda business."Levant has been at the forefront of a growing wave of criticism against the OHRC and its related institutions across Canada after repeated cases in which conservatives and Christians have been dragged before tribunals for "hate speech", with costs reaching tens of thousands of dollars, while simply expressing their traditional beliefs of many centuries.Levant said that the OHRC gets away with its "propaganda" because of their purported focus on "human rights."  "People either are fooled about its intentions or are afraid to criticize it for fear of being labelled anti-human rights," he said.  "In fact, it is not for any real human rights, but for counterfeit human rights, such as the 'right' not to be offended.""Needless to say, it is a left-wing, anti-Christian organization," he added.  "There are enough of those out there already, but this one is particularly offensive because it is paid for with government money."But the government symposium's organizer, David Walpole, who works for the Ontario Public School Boards' Association but is currently on contract with the Ministry of Education, says he's not concerned that the OHRC would present a biased view of equity.  "I've never found that," he told LifeSiteNews.  "I find that the representatives that I've worked with from the commission have been pretty forthright in their declaration of the primacy of the code."LifeSiteNews asked Walpole whether they would be open to another perspective on how to approach homosexuality in schools, but Walpole refused.  "No, no, no, I'm not. … No, it's too late.  The program is planned, it's been sent out, we're full," he said.  "We're not debating whether things are right and wrong, we're simply presenting what is a requirement for boards to do within their policies."But later he admitted that another perspective would not be welcomed even if there were more lead time.  "That's not really our role," he said.  "I mean, we're not organizing this conference for any other purpose other than trustee education."Asked if there would be room for debate in how to approach dealing with issues of sexual orientation in schools, he said: "None.  We're not debating it.""There is no right or wrong.  I mean, it is a fact of life - people are either heterosexual or they're homosexual, in some form of homosexuality," he said.  "That's a reality.  The question really becomes, how do you deal with that in the school system?  Do you ignore it?  Do you deny them, you know, the basic human rights and recognitions that people deserve?  Or not?""We're really not about looking for oppositional viewpoints," he added.  "We recognize that there are, but that's not what this is about."When the reporter suggested that they consider the view of a large section of the population who consider homosexuality a "disorder", Walpole ended the interview.  "Oh, well, I think our conversation is over.  Once you say that to me, I don't want to talk to you anymore.  Goodbye," he said before hanging up.Dawn Stefanowicz, a London-based pro-family advocate who was raised by a homosexual father in an environment where she was fully exposed to the "gay sub-culture", told LifeSiteNews that Walpole's approach amounts to a refusal to present the full truth about homosexuality.  "They need to be presenting all the facts to students, not just partial facts that fit the politically correct spectrum," she said.She pointed in particular to the many health risks that have been connected with homosexuality, such as a vastly higher instance of sexually transmitted diseases, a higher risk of suicide, and a shortening of the average life span by approximately 8 to 20 years.  "We're dealing with children and youths' lives, and their physical and mental health, and so there's a higher responsibility on our Ministry of Education to provide the correct information and not just to be pandering to the special interest groups," she said.Stefanowicz now works to educate the public on the dangers of homosexuality and homosexual parenting, and has written a book entitled Out from Under: The Impact of Homosexual Parenting.  She had hoped to speak at the conference if permitted, and said she was "offended" that a government event would take such a one-sided view of the issue."This discriminates against the majority of parents in the area of their religious and moral beliefs, and how they want their children taught," she said, "because what is being presented at these workshops is going to end up coming down through the different boards of education and then down into each of our schools, both public and Catholic."She accused the Ministry of "statism" and said they are taking a "dictatorial" approach.  "They are paid one hundred percent by tax dollars from the population of the province and they are not representing the populace," she said.  "We have a big problem."See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:Ontario Gvmt to Host Symposium on "Equity" for School Trusteeshttp://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/jun/10060208.htmlOntario Christian Ministry Wins Appeal against Human Rights Tribunal Ruling http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/may/10051810.html http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/levant-stefanowicz-trounce-imposition-of-pro-gay-policy-on-all-ontario-scho/

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