Equality for whom? The troubling case of Gay-Straight Alliances

The equality rights of youth is increasingly becoming a focus in my academic research, so it's timely to address the issue of Gay-Straight Alliances in Ontario schools. Today the issue came to a head at Queen's Park during an exchange between NDP Education Critic Rosario Marchese and Premier Dalton McGuinty about the banning of the Gay-Straight Alliance at St. Joseph's Secondary School.   In response to a question Premier McGuinty stated: "We are making perfectly clear to all our school boards, all our schools, all our principals, all our teachers and all our students that it is unacceptable in Ontario to discriminate based on race, gender, religion or sexual orientation. We have also said that boards can find different ways to ensure that they adhere to those policies."

It isn't perfectly clear what the exact position of the government is. By day's end, Mike Feenstra, a Communications Advisor for Minister of Education Leona Dombrowsky, had muddled the situation by musing "If there isn't a gay-straight alliance, then there needs to be an alternative forum of peer support". The problem being that the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board is creating Side, Inclusivity, Diversity and Equity Spaces and offering access to Courage Toronto. Neither of these groups explicitly address homophobic bullying or offer supportive environments for queer students; particularly, in the case of Courage Toronto, one of its goals is to "Live chaste lives in accordance with the Roman Catholic Church's teaching of homosexuality." 

It appears that the government is creating a situation with the hope that the students will begin litigation either through the Courts or the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario. This would the take a controversial issue off the table during the upcoming provincial election and give Premier McGuinty the ability to refuse comment on the matter as it would be before a judicial body. This strategy is disturbing as it downloads enforcement of the equity policy of the Ministry of Education and protection of minority rights onto the students themselves. This is wrong, government shouldn't shy away from difficult social issues and leave the defence of equality and civil rights to members of marginalized groups.

For more information on this issue, take a look at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association's response and MyGSA.ca, which is an initiative from Egale Canada. If you have any comments, I can be contacted here.