Queer Ontario Letter Opposing Christian College Accreditation
Hon. Ross Romano
Ministry of Colleges and Universities
5th Floor, 438 University Avenue
Toronto, Ontario M7A 2A5
November 3, 2020
Dear Minister Romano,
We write on behalf of Queer Ontario, a community based LGBTQ+ advocacy group to express deep concern with Bill 213. This Bill, which repeals the definition of “College” in section 1 of the Canada Christian College and School of Graduate Theological Studies Act, 1999, is an attempt to supersede the independent, arms-length, decision-making power of the Post-Secondary Education Quality Assessment Board, effectively transforming a private denominational college into a degree-granting university. We oppose extending this form of accreditation to the College, whose founder and President Charles McVety has been described as an extremist by members of his own faith.
Queer Ontario stands firmly against this cynical and opportunistic move by Ontario’s current Conservative government, which supports – through an Omnibus bill amidst a global pandemic – accrediting the College. We deplore these and other efforts to expand private education across Ontario, which work only to undercut the quality of our public postsecondary education system in our Province.
Charles McVety, who leads the College, has a long history of inflammatory public statements. He has consistently denigrated LGBTQ+ communities, seeking to undermine their social, political and legal rights, and has repeatedly claimed that the Islamic faith is inherently violent. Importantly, in 2006, Christian broadcaster CTS removed McVety’s television program from its airwaves after the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council found his remarks on sexual orientation, non-Christian religion, and persons with disabilities to be hateful and discriminatory. Similarly, In a 2011 statement sponsoring a Canadian talk by far-right Dutch politician, Geert Wilders, McVety referred to Islam as “demographic jihad” and to Muslim Immigration as part of a “hostile takeover” of Canada.
In addition, McVety has exacted considerable influence over school policy in his 27 years with the College. Most recently, in the 315-page application sent by the College to the independent and arms-length Postsecondary Education Quality Assessment Board, Canada Christian College forbids both its students and its faculty from engaging in any activity that is “biblically condemned.”
Extending University accreditation to McVety’s Canada Christian College is an affront to Ontario’s standards of scholarship, higher education, and evidence-based research, which respect the fundamental principles of intercultural dialogue, debate, and principled disagreement; we the undersigned condemn this action in the strongest possible terms. The Government of Ontario should grant neither university accreditation nor degree-granting privileges to institutions that fail to uphold
the anti-discrimination and anti-hate speech principles set out in the Ontario Human Rights Code. Canada Christian College simply does not meet these standards given the long and consistent history of hate-fueled statements – rooted in homophobia, transphobia, and islamophobia – made by its founder and President, Charles McVety. Given these issues, we urge the Government of Ontario to immediately reverse its decision to further accredit Canada Christian College.
Sincerely,
Robert Teixeira
Member-at-large, Queer Ontario Steering Committee
Dwayne Shaw
Chair, Queer Ontario Steering Committee
Brian de Matos
Vice-Chair, Queer Ontario Steering Committee
Richard Hudler
Treasurer, Queer Ontario Steering Committee
Nick Mulé, PhD
Secretary, Queer Ontario Steering Committee
Matthew Celestial
Member-at-large, Queer Ontario Steering Committee
Leonard Halladay
Member, Queer Ontario
CC: Hon. Doug Ford, MPP (Etobicoke North)
Premier of Ontario
Laura Mae Lindo, MPP (Kitchener Centre)
Anti-Racism Critic for the Official Opposition
Chris Glover, MPP (Spadina-Fort York)
Colleges and Universities Critic for the Official Opposition
Hon. Kathleen Wynne, MPP (Don Valley West)
Colleges and Universities Critic for the Ontario Liberal Party