Dalton McGuinty’s government threw down the gauntlet Friday as they announced that they will force Catholic schools to allow student clubs called “gay-straight alliances.”
The move is expected to spark a court battle with Ontario’s bishops as they defend Catholics’ denominational rights over the Catholic schools enshrined in Canada’s constitution.
Minister of Education Laurel Broten told reporters at a news conference Friday afternoon that she is introducing an amendment to the controversial homosexual anti-bullying bill that will require schools to let students name the clubs what they want.
In an address to the annual general meeting of the Ontario Student Trustees Association, Broten said her amendment will state that “neither the board nor the principal shall refuse to allow a pupil to use the name gay-straight alliance or a similar name.”
The move is a direct rebuke to Ontario’s Catholic bishops who have gone so far as to allow homosexual clubs, but drew a line in the sand over the GSA name.
25 Comments
OK then.
The Catholic bishops have, at last, an un-fudgeable choice.
They can remain Catholic, or they can obey this law.
It always does come down to this, eventually.
Roman Catholic schools in Ontario are publicly funded by all tax payers in Ontario like the public schools. If they wish to have private religious schools they can refuse tax money anytime and teach what they want. The Premier of Ontario says he must govern for ALL people of Ontario who support this anti-bullying initiative. Perhaps the RC can do with the bullies what they do with their priest who molest children. Simply remove them and send them off to another school
In western society, freedom of religion means that religions are protected from the government - not that the government be protected from religion. This is just one of the many examples of how the gay agenda compromises religious liberty.
The Church should pull its dioceses out of Canada. Its a hostile government. Since the People seem to like a nanny state, they can pray to their benevolent leaders. And we can send all of our same-sex couples up there. Problem solved and billions of dollars saved.
There are more people in California than in all of Canada. These miscreants were able to hijack the Canadian government because the citizens are so spread out they could not come together fast enough to stop this assault in its tracks.
OvercameSSA,
I agree, the Catholic churches should leave Canada and let the homos have that country. wait about 10-15 years, the country will be bagging for them to come back.
They should get out of the way and let mother nature take its course.... problem solved!
Oh please, it's not forcing anyone, it's just promoting equality and preventing closed-minded administrators from stopping kids calling their anti-bullying groups Gay Straight Alliances. As usual, twisting of the words NOM, bravo.
Sean:
You guys are waking up a sleeping giant.
The process is slow, but now sure.
History has a tale to tell about the consequences of forcing the Catholic Church, finally, to decide between Her Faith and Caesar.
Now don;t get me wrong- history tells us that in every such case the vast majority of catholics choose Caesar.
But Caesar always loses.
In the end this has nothing to do with us, we put our hands to the task we see before us, but there is another dimension to this struggle, one you do not see, because you cannot see.
Things are about to get interesting.
A warning season into the future of what we are up against here in Americia. Canada was once a free country that actually had freedom of religion. Now she acts like the old Soviet Union. At this pace it will be like living in a communist country. Since liberals, progressives, and leftists are socialists at heart this does not surprise me.
Catholic schools are PRIVATE PROPERTY. They deserve to be treated as such. Do you have freedom of religion or not? Do you have the right to have a private organization and to state the code of conduct on your own private property or not?
Americans need to see this. Right here in the USA groups like the ACLU are dedicated to using the courts to take away our civil liberties.
There is not enough information to go on to really make an informed opinion on whether or not the Canadian government is over stepping their bounds on the formation of student organizations. Whether public or private, there are rules and regulations that apply in order to maintain the proper order and consistency that a school system needs to employ to better ensure a safer climate. If they are a public religious school, then in their contract they are legally required to adhere to the Canadian government mandates. If they are private, they can surely make a case to a less controversial status on a gay-straight-united that reduces the bullying aspect.
Those reading should keep in mind that the goal is to reduce bullying which will inevitably help students learn.
The ACLU is now "The Anti-Civil Liberties Union."
It was never about marriage. WE MUST STOP THE GAY AGENDA!!!
In Canada John Noe things are getting even worse. Now the homsexual extremists are demanding that you must teach approval of their behavior in your OWN HOME AND TO YOUR OWN CHILDREN!!!!!!!
Read all about this on the LifeSite News blog.
Bad move on the part of the Ontario Bishops. Once you allow 'content', you will have to allow for the 'title'. It's important to take a stand, and simply ban all official student clubs. They will have to take a stand sooner or later, so might as well do it, and not try to compromise. There's no such species called 'homosexual'. Take a stand on the scientific merits. Why? Afraid to lose tuitions?
Yes because us gays are the problem. Maybe watch Oprah's interview with Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka. Really shows how us "gay extremists" who have kids really care for our kids because of the thoughts we have to put in into adopting and/or having a surrogate help us have children. Really enlightening to show how your whole "they're corrupting the children" is beyond false.
http://ca.omg.yahoo.com/news/neil-patrick-harris-and-david-burtka-talk-about-fatherhood--video-.html
Sad that you can't even speak completely on NOM, they deleted my entire post. Still curious about that whole free speech thing NOM talks about.
Gays aren't the problem. It is the gung ho all or nothing fascist attitudes aggressively imposed in which all of their wants and desires are automatically constitutional and civil rights while all of the liberties listed in the Bill of Rights are mowed down in favor of an aggressive left wing agenda.
I guess that "freedom of speech" in Canada is nothing but a farce.
Canada is just the USA two years or less into a (shudder) second Obama administration.
Vote accordingly.
Rick and Zack you're honestly hysterical.
As for Son of Adam, who is likely just Daughter of Eve with another username, no rights in the Bill of Rights (which also protects LGBT) are being mowed down, so I fail to understand where this speculation is being made from.
Sean:
While it is perfectly understandable that you would wish to dismiss the already-evident consequences (see Canada and Massachusetts, among other) of the imposition of pseudo-marriage on the American people.
Fortunately for marriage, and for our nation, the evidence is already quite clear, and becomes more clear with every iteration of the same sex "marriage" election battle.
It is always the same.
First the polls show an advantageous position for pseudo- marriage. Then the media echoes this as evidence of a broader trend, evident in other polls. Then the election happens and pseudo-marriage is defeated by margins strongly inconsistent with the earlier polls.
Now this having happened a great many times consecutively, even the liberal polling firm PPP admits that it does;t believe its own polls on the issue.
How could they?
They are consistently wrong.
This is why the battle for marriage has been won, at the level of the ballot box.
Confirmation will come in November, where gay marriage will cost Obama the Presidency.
Then comes SCOTUS.
One, two, three, four..............five.
.
Saen,
The right of conscience and free exercise thereof in addition to the freedom to speak out against your depravity is under assault - i.e. the very 1st Amendment to the United States Constitution.
Sean: That's the difference. In your own words: Mere friendships need 'having a surrogate help us have children'. Then you argue for 'equality' when you start with 'difference'. That's why we consider you extremists.
John McLaren,
These are Catholic schools. Forcing anti-Catholic policies on Catholic schools is the issue.
Public funding is not. Get a grip on that.