January 17, 2011

Dear Halton Catholic District School Board Trustees,

As the Chair of Political Action for Queer Ontario, I am writing all of you today in advance of
your next Board meeting to discuss your ethical and professional duty to support Gay-Straight
Alliances within the Halton Catholic District School Board (HCDSB).

In a recent study conducted by Egale Canada, three-quarters of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans
and queer (LGBTQ) students indicated that they felt unsafe in at least one area of their school,
with half of their straight peers corroborating the unsafe nature of high schools for LGBTQ
youth. No student, queer or straight, benefits from this kind of learning environment, nor do
they deserve it.

Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs) have proven to be an effective means of dissipating and
combating homophobia and transphobia in schools nation-wide. The work they do helps to
unravel the myths surrounding LGBTQ persons and offers a support network for youth who
are marginalized both at school and in their broader communities. By choosing to deny this
avenue to your students, you are also denying them their right to safe spaces and depriving
your schools of a valuable resource that would make the Halton Catholic District School
Board a more accepting and compassionate place for all. I am sure we can all agree that it
would be irresponsible and negligent for a School Board to not work with a group of students
who are at high risk of bullying, physical assault, and, yes, even suicide — particularly in
establishing a program that has been proven to work.

But ethics aside, this decision to block GSAs is also one of professional concern since
through this denial, you are actively operating in contravention to policy established and
enforced by the Ministry of Education. Specifically, as outlined in Policy/Program
Memorandum No. 145 (PPM 145) Progressive Discipline and Promoting Positive Student
Behaviour, School Boards are required to support GSAs. To reference PPM 145 under the
sub-section titled “Prevention and Awareness Raising”:

“In order to promote a positive school climate, school boards must provide
opportunities for all members of the school community to increase their
knowledge and understanding of such issues as homophobia, gender-based
violence, sexual harassment, inappropriate sexual behaviour, critical media
literacy, and safe Internet use. Ontario’s curriculum provides many
opportunities for students to develop an understanding of these topics. Boards
must also help school staff to give support to students who wish to participate
in gay–straight alliances and in other student-led activities that promote
understanding and development of healthy relationships. Schools must also
engage their school councils and student councils to support these student-led
activities.”

Through your action to block the formation of GSAs and your inaction to rescind your ban on
them, you are in direct violation of policy established by the Ministry of Education that
applies to both Public and Catholic schools in Ontario. Queer Ontario understands that the
banning of GSAs is in fact a violation of Ministry of Education Policy which overrides any
perceived ‘denominational’ rights that your Board’s Chair, Alice Anne LeMay, and other
Trustees believe they have to prevent the establishment of GSAs in your schools.

Queer Ontario is calling on you today to do what is right for your students and reverse your
regressive ban on GSAs. Allow GSAs to be established within the HCDSB so that they may
conduct their social justice work both within your schools and your communities. Failing this,
we believe you should resign your positions as Board Chair and Trustees, since you are not
only acting irresponsibly with regard to the best interests of your students; you are also acting in direct contravention of policies established and enforced by the Ministry of Education. At this juncture, should you choose not to reverse your ban on GSAs, Queer Ontario calls on the Ministry of Education to intervene and enforce PPM 145 to ensure that LGBTQ students are not being denied their right to this valuable resource/support group. We would also invite the
Ontario Human Rights Commission to investigate this matter.

All students benefit from a supportive environment that counteracts the potential for bullying.
Through the work performed by GSAs, there is a real opportunity to improve the quality of
life not only for LGBTQ students but as well, the student body as a whole.

Yours truly,

Casey Oraa
Chair
Political Action
Queer Ontario

Cc: Leona Dombrowsky, Minister, Education
Kevin Flynn, MPP, Oakville
Joyce Savoline, MPP, Burlington
Ted Chudleigh, MPP, Halton
Ted Arnott, MPP, Wellington-Halton Hills
Tara Elliott, Director of Education, Egale Canada
Halton Catholic District School Board (HCDSB)
Ontario Education Services Corporation (OESC)
Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC)

January 12, 2011

Alice Anne LeMay
Chair
Halton Catholic District School Board
Catholic Education Centre
802 Drury Lane
Burlington, Ontario
L7R 2Y2

Dear Ms. LeMay,

I am writing on behalf of Queer Ontario in response to your comments and actions
regarding Gay-Straight Alliances (GSA) in Halton Catholic District high schools. In a
recent study conducted by Egale Canada, three-quarters of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans
and queer (LGBTQ) students stated that they felt unsafe in at least one area of their
school, with half of their straight peers corroborating the unsafe nature of high schools
for LGBTQ youth. No student, queer or straight, benefits from this kind of learning
environment, nor do they deserve it.

Gay-Straight Alliances have proven to be an effective means of dissipating and
combating homophobia and transphobia in schools. The work they do helps to unravel
the myths surrounding LGBTQ persons, and offers a support network for youth who are
marginalized both at school and in their broader communities. And yet, you somehow
managed to find a way of comparing Gay-Straight Alliances to Nazi groups, which is an
irresponsible gesture on your part and, quite frankly, one unbefitting of an elected
official. For not only is it disrespectful to queer youth today who continue to suffer from
homophobic violence, but it is absolutely abhorrent to align an oppressive, violent, and
discriminatory group — and one that has a history of persecuting LGBTQ people, no less
— with organizations that seek to support students suffering from such systems of hate
and violence.

But the comparison is there, and your justification for it as being a sample of groups “that
are not endorsed and permitted in Halton Catholic schools,” simply because they are
“against magisterial of the Catholic Church,” is quite telling of the restrictive school
environment you want to create for your students. The fact that you claim that Catholic
schools have ‘denominational rights’ to do as they please with requests to establish Gay-
Straight Alliances also comes to show how poorly you understand your role as a school
trustee, not to mention the equity laws that govern your school district.

You are indeed correct in stating that you have denominational rights with regards to
most practices within Catholic schools, but should the wellbeing of your students not
come first? As Chair of the Halton Catholic District School Board, are you not primarily
responsible for the health and wellbeing of all students in your community, many of
whom identify as LGBT or come from families with members who do? Indeed, by
choosing to ban Gay-Straight Alliances in your schools, you show not only that you are
delinquent in your duty to foster a nurturing learning environment for your all students,
but you actually do a great disservice to your community by barring them from
developing more informed and compassionate attitudes towards your LGBT constituents.

Queer Ontario is of the position that allowing a safe and loving space for students to
explore, discover, and come to terms with their sexual orientation (should they choose to
do so, of course) creates an opportunity for dialogue, support, growth and empowerment.
As such, we disagree with the HCDSB’s claim that “the same objective of promoting
understanding” can be fostered with generic human rights groups, especially if this takes
place in an environment that discourages ‘coming out’ or the discussion of issues related
to sexual orientation and/or gender identity.

By choosing to not allow Gay-Straight Alliances in your district, then, you are denying
students their right to free association, freedom of expression, and the mandated
provision of a space that is free of oppression and discrimination. Or, to put it in more
empathetic terms: by blocking these Ministry recommended organizations, you are not
only contributing to a hostile atmosphere for LGBTQ students in your district, but the
student body as a whole. Everyone can benefit from honest discussion and a greater
awareness of LGBTQ issues — your straight-identified students, teachers, and board
officers included.

Sincerely,

Casey Oraa
Chair, Political Action Committee
Queer Ontario

Cc: Leona Dombrowsky, Minister, Education
Kevin Flynn, MPP, Oakville
Joyce Savoline, MPP, Burlington
Ted Chudleigh, MPP, Halton
Ted Arnott, MPP, Wellington-Halton Hills
Tara Elliott, Director of Education, Egale Canada
Halton Catholic District School Board (HCDSB)
Ontario Education Services Corporation (OESC)