Tory plan to protect LGBT students doesn't go far enough, critic says
An expert in sexual minority studies says a bill being proposed by Alberta Premier Jim Prentice to protect LGBT students from bullying does not go far enough.
The legislation will amend the Alberta Bill of Rights, adding sexual orientation to the list of prohibited grounds of discrimination.
A contentious section of the Alberta Bill of Rights allowing parents to take their children out of classroom discussion about sexual orientation, sexuality and religion, would be moved to the School and Education Acts.
The new legislation will also stipulate that students barred by schools from forming gay-straight alliances (GSAs) can seek legal recourse.
Kris Wells, who teaches at the Institute for Sexual Minority Studies at the University of Alberta, calls the proposed bill a "field goal but not a touchdown".
“It lifts the chill that has been in our classrooms and schools over the last five years whenever a teacher wanted to talk about LGBT issues and the fear they could be hauled before a human rights tribunal.”
Wells said what’s still lacking in Alberta classrooms is a curriculum that looks at sexual orientation and gender identity issues in a positive way.
“You need to see yourself in the textbooks and images and hear about your community and identity in the conversations in your classrooms in a positive way,” he said.
The government bill counters Bill 202, a private member’s bill introduced by Liberal MLA Laurie Blakeman that would compel schools to allow students to form GSAs.
Prentice says Blakeman’s approach encroaches on parental rights and the autonomy of school boards.
But the Tory plan unfairly puts the onus on GSA supporters to go the courts if a school blocks them, Blakeman said.
