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TORONTO, June 28, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A panel entitled ‘Propaganda 101: The infiltration of homosexuality in our schools’ was one of the highlights at the Toronto Pro-life Forum Saturday.  A sold-out crowd heard from a former gay activist, an experienced lawyer, and a teacher and parent with more than 30 years experience in education, and who argued that there is cause for a lawsuit by parents against the Ministry of Education for forcing the homosexual agenda into schools.

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Over 200 participants gathered in downtown Toronto over the weekend at the Hotel Novotel, enjoying delicious food and fellowship at the first of what will become a yearly event put on by Campaign Life Coalition (CLC).  CLC National President Jim Hughes told LifeSiteNews he was very pleased with the outcome of the first Pro-Life Forum, and that he has received many positive compliments from attendees. Pro-life forums are also scheduled for October in Sudbury and Kingston Ontario.

“Across Ontario we have witnessed an unprecedented uprising by parents and religious communities against Dalton McGuinty’s EIE (equity and inclusive education) Strategy,” attendees at the event were told by the panelists on the ‘Propaganda 101’ panel.

“In Toronto, Catholic parents and electors have been flooding the TCDSB offices with concerns and jamming board meetings. In Cambridge, concerned Catholic parents have held a prayer vigil outside the chancery office to encourage the Bishops to scrap the EIE.  Protestant and Evangelical parents in Hamilton are also fighting the public secular school board’s EIE policy. In Ottawa, concerned Catholic parents have asked for the Bishops’ curriculum advisors to be fired and the EIE to be rejected. In North Bay, presentations have been made to the local Catholic School Board asking for amendments to its policy.”

Lou Iacobelli, a teacher for over 33 years and a parent, noted that the language used in the documents about the “equity” strategy is ambiguous and confusing and easily used by those with an agenda to distort Catholic teaching.  He urged parents to work with religious and political leaders and at the school board level to protect their children.  Parents are the primary educators of their children, he said.

Lawyer Geoff Cauchi presented evidence that the gay agenda was beginning to move into the school system even thirty years ago.  While working with a family action council at the time, he was astonished that even medically-based evidence on the harm of homosexual acts had to be excluded from the curriculum.

Given that the Toronto public school board has said it will pursue “anti-homophobia” education in the schools and will not permit parents to withdraw their children from such instruction, Cauchi said that there are grounds for a lawsuit by parents against the school board.  “There is a cause of action right now,” he said, “since they intend to discriminate against Christian parents.”

Panelists were asked to respond to the charge that Christians who oppose promotion of homosexuality in schools are ‘homophobic’ and that their opposition to ‘equity and inclusivity’ programs is based on ‘hatred’ of those with same-sex attraction. Panelist Alan Yoshioka responded that the charge was very familiar to him: as a former gay activist, he said, “I’ve used it many times myself.”  Yoshioka pointed out, however, that while he is now happily married to a woman, he does retain a degree of same-sex attraction and that he can attest to not having animosity towards himself.

At a Friday night dinner launching the forum, guests were delighted to hear from new Canadian media personality Brian Lilley of the Sun TV network. Other speakers included famed pro-life prisoner of conscience Linda Gibbons, CLC youth leader Alissa Golob, former Liberal MP Tom Wappell, 40-days-for-life coordinator Nicole Campbell and more.