A subcommittee of the Toronto Catholic school board, struck to further Catholic values, has passed a motion to update its code of conduct, which governs students and staff, but it will not include protection for discrimination based on gender identity, gender expression, marital status and family status.The motion, passed at the 11th hour of a lengthy meeting Wednesday night, ignores a directive from the Ministry of Education sent in October, 2018, that asked boards to update their codes by Nov. 4, 2019, so that they align with the province’s, which includes the terms. “I was sickened by it, by the hypocrisy, by the homophobia and the fear-mongering,” said board chair Maria Rizzo, the only trustee of the five-member subcommittee to vote against the motion.She was completely surprised by the introduction of the pre-written motion.“We can’t allow words that threaten to stigmatize our LGBTQ students.”Instead of adding the protections to the code, trustees wrote a seven-paragraph motion that affirms, in part, “that all people are created in the image and likeness of God and are deserving of respect and dignity.”This could be voted on at the next full board meeting Dec. 5, said a TCDSB spokesperson.Rizzo says she’s unsure whether it will be accepted.“It’s 50-50,” she said. Minister of Education Stephen Lecce addressed the controversy at a funding announcement at George Brown on Wednesday. “My message to the board is quite clear,” he continued. “My expectation is every child, irrespective of their differences, can see themselves reflected in schools, and, more important, that they will adhere to the Ontario Human Rights Code.”Section 5 of the human rights code stipulates that “every person has a right to equal treatment with respect to employment without discrimination because of race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, sex, sexual o ...
|
