OTTAWA – Yesterday, The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada sent an open letter to all members of the Ontario legislature, calling for amendments to Bill 13,
Accepting Schools Act.
“Bill 13 was introduced to address the issue of bullying in Ontario schools,” explains Faye Sonier, EFC Legal Counsel. “However, we find the bill to be problematic from a legal perspective as well as unnecessarily broad, rigid and inflexible. Unless the bill is amended, we predict that the province will have years of expensive, tax-payer funded litigation ahead of it.”
In November 2011, the Government of Ontario introduced Bill 13, the Accepting Schools Act, intended to “help make Ontario schools safe and more accepting places to learn.” The Bill addresses the issue of bullying and proposes several amendments to the Education Act. Since that time, Bill 13 has been criticized by many Ontarians, including members of the Jewish, Muslim, Evangelical Christian and Catholic communities. This should give reason to pause. Ontario is a diverse province, and each citizen – and identifiable minorities that have suffered discrimination and bullying themselves – deserves to have their concerns heard and addressed by their elected officials.
“There are constitutional and human rights issues apparent on a surface reading of the Bill,” explains EFC VP and General Legal Counsel Don Hutchison. “It will likely violate the religious freedom of families and the institutional freedoms of schools and boards. It may even restrict the ability of religious groups to rent classroom space on weekends for religious services. For a short bill, its impact and reach are shockingly broad.”
“Ontario children, parents and teachers expect to live in a peaceful, tolerant province that respects their sincerely held beliefs, their inclusion in a plural, multicultural society and to have hard-earned tax dollars spent in the most appropriate and considerate fashion possible,” continues Sonier. “They deserve nothing less.”
A link to the letter can be found here.
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For more information or an interview contact:
Rick Hiemstra, Director of Media Relations
The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada
(613) 233-9868, ext. 332
MediaRelations@theEFC.ca