The Aug 31 meeting was the final debate on the TCDSB's equity and inclusive education policy, which has already passed. More than 100 people packed the gallery for the fiery meeting; in the majority were a vocal contingent of people objecting to homosexuality being taught in any way in Catholic schools, including within the context of bullying prevention and peer support.
“Denominational rights are the first priority,” trustee John Del Grande repeated several times.
Before the meeting started, Queer Ontario’s Casey Oraa told Xtra that the board had refused to allow GSA activist Leanne Iskander and members of Catholic Students for GSAs to speak, even though the group filled out a form ahead of the meeting.
Oraa says it seems that the board stacked the list of 10 delegations with nine that were pro-Catholic, allowing only one space for anyone to speak in favour of the policy.
When it was Oraa’s turn to speak, he graciously bowed out, offering his spot to the students and saying the board should really start listening to what students are saying.
“I have been watching. They gave Leanne and the students exactly three minutes to speak. Everyone else got much longer,” he said.
Emmy Milne, communications manager for the TCDSB, says each of the 10 delegates were permitted to speak for three minutes, reduced from the usual five.
Those who did speak objected to the equity policy in total, claiming it is just another way that “the homosexual agenda is normalizing a lifestyle choice.”
Student Kayla Martin called it an attack on Catholicism.
“Is the act of homosexuality something we support as Catholics?” Martin asked the board. “The answer is simply no.”
Meanwhile, anti-gay screams and shouts echoed from the gallery.
The most controversial amendment, which would have blocked students from forming GSAs, was defeated.
Delegate Anna Lukowski says being gay is not a "lifestyle consistent with the Catholic church. The board should only have goals that are consistent with Catholic faith and doctrinal rights."
The battle for GSAs began in January when the Halton Catholic District School Board banned the groups, which are stipulated as requirements by the Ministry of Education in its equity policy.
Roman Catholic schools have repeatedly denied students’ requests for GSAs, saying supports are already in place and church doctrine condemns gay sex as “sinful and immoral.” One example of the “supports” given to gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans students is the community group Courage International, an organization that claims to “cure gays.”
In March, members of the GSA at Mississauga’s St Joseph Catholic Secondary School were blocked from forming any group with the word “gay” in the title.
Then, this summer, a letter from a priest representing Toronto’s Coptic Christian community threatened to pull thousands of students from TCDSB classrooms if homosexuality is taught in schools in any way.
Origin
Source: Xtra
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