Grade 6 students' gay rights project should be applauded: MPP
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Two Grade 6 students at St. George Catholic School should be congratulated for wanting to highlight gay rights as a social justice issue, says the education critic for the provincial Progressive Conservative Party.
Garfield Dunlop, MPP for Simcoe North, also said that the decision by St. George’s principal to block the project, might violate Ontario’s Education Act, which says boards must “promote a positive school climate that is inclusive and accepting of all pupils.”
“We want to make sure everyone feels included and that means everyone: transsexual, transgendered, gay couples and, of course, heterosexual rights,” Dunlop said.
“In a way you have to applaud the young ladies for moving forward and being proactive. It’s an education tool.”
The Ottawa Catholic School Board issued a statement saying it covers the topic in an “age appropriate manner,” but students are never too young to learn about human rights and gender issues, says Laurie Rektor, director of community programming at Ottawa Family Services.
Rektor spent Thursday at the public school board’s Rainbow Youth Forum, and said her agency makes frequent presentations in public schools about rights and gender issues.
“One of my thoughts when I heard about this was what a perfect social justice issue for these students to look at,” Rektor said.
“This is not a sexuality issue — everyone has a sexual orientation — this is about rights and inclusiveness.”
“We don’t draw a line about how old a child has to be. It begins as soon as they are able to recognize that other families look different than theirs. There are LGBTQ families everywhere.”
The Catholic school board said Thursday that it stands by its position. Education Minister Liz Sandals told the Citizen on Wednesday that the board “is in the best position to speak on this specific matter” and that it expects boards to comply with the Education Act.
The act requires boards “promote a positive school climate that is inclusive and accepting of all pupils, including pupils of any race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, family status or disability.”
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