Halton Ontario Catholic School District Board Votes 6-2 To Recommend Repealing Ban On Gay-Straight Alliances Until A New Catholic-Focused Equity And Inclusion Policy Can Be Created

Tuesday, the Halton Ontario Catholic District School Board voted 6-2 to repeal a ban on gay-straight alliances and an interim province-recommended policy on student equity and inclusion implemented until the trustees can draft a new, more Catholic-directed version, the Globe and Mail reports. The recommendation to formally end the ban and develop new policy will go before the full board at a meeting new week. Last year, the Ontario Ministry of Education enacted new rules mandating school boards to include policies permitting gay and lesbian students to form clubs and support groups. The Catholic school boards throughout the province received a letter from the Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Ontario articulating a concern about such groups because they “imply a self-identification with sexual orientation that is often premature among high school students.” In November, 2010, just before a newly elected board of trustees were to take office, the old board voted to implement an inclusion policy excluding gay-straight alliances. Tuesday night, Paul Marai, one of the newly elected trustees – the first openly gay trustee – said of the continuing controversy “I’m cautiously optimistic, I think we needed to address this issue because it has been doing damage to the reputation of our board.” Jane Michael, however, another new trustee, the mother of four, was one of the two who voted against repealing the ban, and she, parroting the stance of the bishops, said “I believe that gay-straight alliances necessitate students to self-identify and that’s not in the best interest of the students. It’ll be like, ‘Hello I’m gay.’”