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Please send the following letter to your MPP.
You can look up your MPPs contact information here: http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/members/members_current.do?locale=en
It has come to my attention that Bill 13 – Accepting Schools Act is awaiting a vote after second reading in the legislature.
As a constituent in your riding, I wish to express my sincere concern to you about this bill, and request that you vote against it or to be absent for the vote. My concerns are as follows:
· Although the effort to combat bullying and inequality in schools is appreciated, there seems to be a strong bias in Bill 13 toward the promotion of LGBTTIQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, transsexual, two-spirited, intersexed, queer and questioning) lifestyles over other groups. The preamble of Bill 13 does not explicitly discuss promoting equity for heterosexuals, men, or women, nor does it make reference to protecting against bullying based on religious beliefs, political affiliation or any general association. Why should the government explicitly promote one group above another or to the exclusion of other groups?
· Bill 13 appears to enforce and enshrine fairly new policies and procedures at the school board level across Ontario , which seem to restrict or remove parental rights, the freedom of speech, religion, conscience and association, especially around gender and sexual education in the public education system. Tolerance is the respectful interaction of diverse viewpoints, and moving beyond it to broad-based acceptance will constrict both freedom and equality in schools.
· Pierre Trudeau stated that, “there’s no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation.” Why then is the state using the public education system, even the farthest arm of the state – the Kindergarten teachers, to metaphorically “go into the bedrooms of the children” and teach and legitimize a variety of gender orientations (some of which are sexual in nature). This is evident in the surveys that will take place to see where students are at and to change the teaching to modify the worldviews to legitimize the LGBTQ lifestyles. These surveys are given now in the Toronto District School Board from K-12.
· Bill 13, at a few points, defines bullying in a very broad subjective manner that leaves it open to wide interpretation, with the consequences for such behaviour being student expulsion. Examples of phrases left open to wide interpretation are, (Section 1:1a) “the pupil ought to know that the behaviour would be likely to cause” and “perceived power imbalance” (emphasis added).
· Bill 13 specifically hinders the freedom of speech, religion and association by only allowing groups to rent school space who will conform to the code of conduct within each school board. When a publicly funded Board of Education has a different code of conduct than a public group renting the space, the public group should still be able to meet and freely speak and associate. Each Board of Education should be tolerant and freely permit the variety of beliefs and values held by its public citizens.
· Bill 13 removes freedoms of speech, religion and association by forcing Catholic schools to explicitly promote values, lifestyles and beliefs they do not agree with, which they are entitled to under the Canadian Constitution. It furthermore has the potential to lead to these freedoms being removed from private schools.
· Under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, every Canadian citizen has the following fundamental freedoms: the freedom of conscience and religion (Canada Act 1982, 2A), freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication (Canada Act 1982, 2B), and the freedom of association (Canada Act 1982, 2D). Can the government uphold these rights by permitting freedom for a variety of groups to believe what they want and not promote one group above another?
In light of these concerns, I request that you vote against Bill 13 or be absent for the vote so that this Bill does not become legislation. Instead, I would encourage you to support Bill 14 – Anti-Bullying Act, which seeks to protect all students from bullying (not just some groups), and it does not carry the same limitations on the freedom of speech, conscience, association and religion in the public arena.
Yours respectfully,
cz98aa 发表于 2012-5-10 11:14 ![]()
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发表于 2012-5-16 09:50:06
