Wednesday June 2, 2010
Ontario Gvmt to Host Symposium on “Equity” for School Trustees
TORONTO, Ontario, June 2, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Ontario Ministry of Education is set to host a symposium later this month to educate school board trustees on the Ministry’s new “Equity and Inclusive Education Strategy”.
Co-hosted by he Ontario Education Services Corporation, the ‘Inclusive Boards-Inclusive Schools’ symposium,is scheduled for June 17th in Toronto and will feature an opening plenary address by Barbara Hall, chief commissioner of the controversial Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC). The day-long program also includes 2 workshops by staff members of the OHRC and a workshop on ‘Creating Safe Spaces for LGBTQ Youth’.
The equity strategy was launched in April 2009 under Kathleen Wynne, the openly homosexual former Minister of Education of the Liberal government. By September 2010 every Catholic and public school board in the province is required to have developed an equity policy that, among other things, recognizes sexual orientation as grounds for non-discrimination – regardless of their moral traditions and religious principles on the subject.
Pro-family advocates have warned that such recognition would violate conscience rights and religious freedom and necessarily lead to the normalization of homosexuality. They have expressed fears that the schools, whether Catholic or public, will be required to teach that homosexuality is natural and normal.
In January a spokesperson for the Ministry refused to state whether Catholic schools would continue to be able to teach the Catholic belief that homosexual inclinations are “objectively disordered” and homosexual practices constitute “acts of grave depravity” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 2357-2359).
The trustee symposium’s session on ‘creating safe spaces’ for homosexuals in the schools is described in the program as “an interactive workshop” that is based on a training DVD called OutLoud. This DVD was developed by the Waterloo Region District School Board “to raise awareness around homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia,” and one of the goals is to help participants develop gay-straight student alliances in the schools.
Contact Information:
Dalton McGuinty, Premier
Legislative Building
Queen’s Park
Toronto ON M7A 1A1
Fax: (416) 325-3745
E-mail: Use this form.
Hon. Leona Dombrowsky, Minister of Education
Mowat Block, 22nd Flr, 900 Bay St
Toronto, ON M7A 1L2
Tel: 1-800-387-5514 (TTY 1-800-263-2892)
Fax: 416-325-6348
Email: [email protected]
See related LifeSiteNews reports:
Levant, Stefanowicz Trounce Imposition of Pro-Gay Policy on all Ontario Schools
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/jun/10060207.html
Ontario Gvmt Won’t Say Whether Catholic Schools Can Teach Beliefs on Homosexuality
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/jan/10010807.html