The students are revolting – and as far as Alberta’s education minister is concerned, at least one of the school trustees is too. This Friday, students from all over the Edmonton area will abandon their classes to participate in the global strike for climate action. Alberta’s United Conservative Party Government,
Continue readingTag: Catholic schools
Alberta Politics: Alberta schools are public no more … What gives?
Alberta schools are public no more. Or something. A ministerial order signed by Education Minister Adriana LaGrange on Aug. 15 eliminated the word “public” from the legal title of all public school divisions and boards in Alberta. What’s going on? That’s not immediately clear, but given Premier Jason Kenney’s promises
Continue readingBishop Henry pontificates on LGBTQ rights
The Alberta government has established LGBTQ guidelines for the province’s schools. This story would not be complete without comments from Calgary’s Bishop Fred Henry. The good bishop has excoriated the guidelines as "anti-Catholic" and "totalitarian."
He claims that Catholic schools, which will be subject to the guidelines, already require that all students be equally respected. Considering
Continue readingSlap Upside The Head: Ontario GSA Bill Passes
Ontario passed Bill 13 this week, which forbids school administrators from banning Gay-Straight Alliances. Hooray! The congratulalien has been vindicated! Good job, Ontario.
Continue readingPample the Moose: Bill 13’s passage, GSAs and the Catholic Church
Bill 13, Ontario’s anti-bullying legislation, passed third reading in the legislature today. The bill obtained 65 votes in support from the Liberal and NDP members, and 36 votes against from the Conservatives. I’m quite pleased that this legislation passed in the final form that it assumed, which incorporated amendments giving
Continue readingPample the Moose: Bill 13’s passage, GSAs and the Catholic Church
Bill 13, Ontario’s anti-bullying legislation, passed third reading in the legislature today. The bill obtained 65 votes in support from the Liberal and NDP members, and 36 votes against from the Conservatives. I’m quite pleased that this legislation passed in the final form that it assumed, which incorporated amendments giving
Continue readingPample the Moose: Bill 13’s passage, GSAs and the Catholic Church
Bill 13, Ontario’s anti-bullying legislation, passed third reading in the legislature today. The bill obtained 65 votes in support from the Liberal and NDP members, and 36 votes against from the Conservatives.I’m quite pleased that this legislati…
Continue readingTrashy's World: Ontario Catholic School Boards…
… have their knickers in a twist over the Ontario Government’s insistence that Catholic schools allow Gay-Straight alliances in their schools as part of the overall provincial anti-bullying strategy. You see, they want to have a faith-based education system within a secular system of government. And they want control over
Continue readingSlap Upside The Head: Ontario Catholic Schools To Get GSAs
I admit it. I jumped the gun with my Congratulalien last year. When the Ontario government announced that all schools—including Catholic schools—must allow the formation of student-run GLBT support groups, I took that to mean students would finally be getting GSAs. Having endured twelve years of Catholic schooling myself, I perhaps should
Continue readingPample the Moose: Dalton McGuinty, GSAs and Catholic Schools – A rose by an ambiguous name
Over the past several days, Bill 13, the Accepting Schools Act, 2012 has been in committee hearings. This is the provincial government’s anti-bullying legislation, meant to provide support groups in schools for various groups of students that have been victims of bullying, but, when it comes right down to it,
Continue readingPample the Moose: Dalton McGuinty, GSAs and Catholic Schools – A rose by an ambiguous name
Over the past several days, Bill 13, the Accepting Schools Act, 2012 has been in committee hearings. This is the provincial government’s anti-bullying legislation, meant to provide support groups in schools for various groups of students that have been victims of bullying, but, when it comes right down to it,
Continue readingPample the Moose: Dalton McGuinty, GSAs and Catholic Schools – A rose by an ambiguous name
Over the past several days, Bill 13, the Accepting Schools Act, 2012 has been in committee hearings. This is the provincial government’s anti-bullying legislation, meant to provide support groups in schools for various groups of students that have bee…
Continue readingSlap Upside The Head: Catholic Schools Unveil Their Tax-Paid GSA Replacements
The Ontario Ministry of Education has long recommended that all schools offer student-run Gay Straight Alliances. GSAs intend to improve the lives of GLBT students, giving them positive role models, and offering a safe respite from bullying. Their benefits are also well-documented; schools with GSAs have a demonstrably lower incidence
Continue readingTrashy's World: Perhaps a step toward…
…one school system in Ontario? One can only hope. It will likely fail, but will expose the farcical inequities in our education system to those Ontarians who are, at present, blissfully unaware. But you can bet that I and the many others who want to see the end of faith-based
Continue readingThis drama with the Catholic school system reminds me of a Mel Brooks moment
I’m sorry, I just can’t help it sometimes.It’s probably not the most famous or best-remembered scene from Blazing Saddles (and in truth, it’s got a lot of competition), but in light of the Catholic school system’s way of dealing with gay and lesbian st…
Continue readingAll this Catholic-school business reminds me of a Mel Brooks moment
I’m sorry, I just can’t help it sometimes.It’s probably not the most famous or best-remembered scene from Blazing Saddles (and in truth, it’s got a lot of competition), but in light of the Catholic school system’s way of dealing with gay and lesbian st…
Continue readingThe Catholic school system needs to get its hands out of our pockets
And that’s just for starters.The travesty that took place this week is common knowledge by now. Activist Leanne Iskander, who’s got more courage in her little finger than most people have in their whole bodies, has been threatened with disciplinar…
Continue readingPample the Moose: Ontario Election: GSAs, Greens and Catholic Schools
The issue of gay-straight alliances in Catholic schools in Ontario has heated up again, this time in the Toronto Catholic District School Board, which voted this week to place denominational rights above other rights in implementing the provincial equi…
Continue readingSlap Upside The Head: Catholic Sect Threatens Children Over Tolerance Policy
The Coptic Orthodox Church has threatened to somehow withdraw 5000 schoolchildren from the Toronto Catholic District School Board unless the board scraps its plans to implement the government’s required tolerance and anti-homophobia policies. Jeremiah Attaalla, a spokesperson for the sect, explained the bizarre hostage tactics to the press. ”In these young grades, we don’t want teachers […]
Continue readingSlap Upside The Head: Ontario Catholic Schools To Get GSAs
Great news! Thanks to pressure from students, the Ontario government has announced that all schools receiving public funding, including Catholic schools, must allow GLBT support groups starting this September. “The choice to have an LGBTQ group will be the choice of students, not the choice of principals and school boards,” MPP Glen Murray announced to […]
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