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Calls for more explicit language and a greater commitment to education and enforcement from the Ministry of Education and Ontario’s School Boards
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TORONTO – Queer Ontario submitted today a series of amendments to Bills 13 & 14 that would strengthen the language of the Bill, foster a greater understanding of equity and inclusivity amongst teachers and staff, and establish clearer guidelines of compliance and accountability in all publicly-funded schools.
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“A longstanding issue in our work around the banning of Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs) in Catholic schools has been the reluctance of Catholic School Boards to enforce pre-existing policy, coupled with the Ministry’s lack of commitment to enforce its own,” says Queer Ontario Chairperson Nick Mulé. “We have continually contended that the Ontario Government’s existing Policy/Program Memorandum 145 already compels public school boards to support students who wish to form LGBTQ support groups, and that the lack of enforcement on the parts of the Boards and the Ministry of this Policy is at the core of the current struggle over LGBTQ youth wishing to form these valuable support groups.”
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Also included within the submitted amendments is language that explicitly establishes the rights of students to choose the name of the LGBTQ support group they wish to form. “As it currently stands, we feel that the language surrounding Bill Provision 303.1(d) regarding Board support of students wishing to form LGBTQ support groups is unclear,” says Casey Oraa, Queer Ontario Vice-Chair. “Adding ‘as determined by the pupil’ to this provision will ensure that naming rights rest in the hands of the students, as opposed to the school’s Board or staff.”
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Queer Ontario is also calling for the introduction of reporting mechanisms on school climate; the mandating of professional development programs related to anti-bullying and anti-harassment issues; and the inclusion of ‘gender identity’ and ‘gender expression’ as social locations protected by the Bill.
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Queer Ontario’s Deputation on Anti-Bullying Bills 13 and 14
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