The ongoing outrage over a restrictive fundraising policy has both the education minister and chair of the Halton Catholic board questioning whether trustees there can still properly carry out their duties.The policy — which sparked a number of student walkouts on Thursday — bans schools from donating to charities that violate church values “directly or indirectly” by supporting abortion, euthanasia, contraception or embryonic stem-cell research. It has impacted organizations such as the Canadian Cancer Society and the United Way.On Wednesday, Education Minister Indira Naidoo-Harris spoke to board chairperson Diane Rabenda by phone, a conversation that followed the board’s decision to rebuff a request from the minister to “pause” the policy amid concerns it was implemented without the required consultations.“Essentially I was listening to her and listening to what she had to say and what her concerns were,” Naidoo-Harris said at Queen’s Park Thursday. “We certainly talked about a number of things, about the importance of the student voice in all of these discussions.“I expressed to her my disappointment that they didn’t pause the motion in order to take into account the various voices and do a proper analysis of what the community feels about this.”During the 15-minute conversation, Rabenda also “expressed some concerns about whether or not the board was able to function when it came to performing their duties and responsibilities, since this motion is just getting so much attention and is really taking a lot of attention and focus away from some of the other board items,” said Naidoo-Harris.Had trustees heeded the minister’s advice to put it on hold, “they certainly would have been able to conduct their business in a much more efficient manner,” Naidoo-Harris said.“The situation does concern me — it’s becoming very clear to me that ...
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