A response to Alberta’s Bill 27… it needs three important fixes if it is to give parents the security they thought they were voting for.
Two years ago, a school invited law students to talk to their middle schoolers about how to avoid date rape. Their point was simple: if she doesn’t actively consent, it’s rape. You have to make sure that she says yes — if you claim that “she didn’t say no,” that’s rape.
While such lessons about sexuality require parental consent, the school used an opt-out form. Even if the student lost it in their backpack, it was okay because parents “didn’t say no.” The hypocrisy was palpable.
Danielle Smith’s Bill 27 is a relatively straightforward attempt to fix this, requiring schools to seek parental consent on an opt-in basis. As her embrace of parental authority has helped her win her leadership review, we can say that this has public support. As written, however, the bill suffers from three flaws which may make the problem worse.
Here’s the first flaw. Section 6 allows the Minister to approve learning and teaching resources and “approve any external party using or providing learning and teaching resources referred to in section 18.1.” However, this gives power over religious authorities, which may result in, say, a Catholic Bishop having to ask for permission to enter a Catholic school, let alone provide materials.
This is overreach: it infringes on religious freedom, and may violate the Alberta Act and the Convention against Discrimination in Education. Discussions of faith and morals are entwined with sexuality — you can’t weed them out. This section risks turning religious schools into extensions of state ideology — which seems not so bad until you realize that your political opponents will control them one day.
An oversight also sabotages the opt-in model of parental consent — our second flaw.
Section 7 of the Bill specifically exempts materials from gay-straight alliances from the opt-in requirements. Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs) — typically led by activist teachers — can distribute any resources they want. They don’t need to inform parents, let alone ask permission.
This could lead to the spectacle of a school being virtually wallpapered by an activist teacher using his students as “change agents.” Students would then be exposed to this “learning material,” even if it is content they or their families might find objectionable. In this way, the exemption undermines the ideal of consent being asked for in the legislation.
Behind this is a piece of startlingly bad legislation: Section 35.1 of the Education Act.
This section requires schools to establish GSAs if a single child requests one — including religious schools. Most importantly, it requires that religious schools enforce this even if it’s against their faith — in fact, that’s the point.
Gay-Straight Alliances are manifestly against the religious beliefs of a variety of religions: as we pointed out above, you can’t easily separate morals — a matter of faith — from sexuality. It isn’t just about Catholics and other Christians: Islamic schools are utterly against the trans ideology embodied in them. Simply put, Section 35.1 is a stick in the eye of all religious people. And when you set aside ideology or religious beliefs, that’s not good policy. No good will come from picking fights with a broad spectrum of religious people.
Still, Bill 27’s project to enshrine opt-in consent for controversial topics of faith and morals is good.
But what can be done to mitigate the Bill’s flaws?
Here are three recommendations that we can take away:
- Remove the GSA exemption from opt-in consent requirements;
- Allow religious schools the freedom to host their own religious leaders without needing government approval;
- Exempt religious schools from mandatory GSA policies.
We’re all in favour of opt-in requirements. They’re good policy, which can protect parental rights and the diverse faiths of the province. This bill, however, needs refinement before it can achieve its goals.
John Hilton-O’Brien is the Executive Director of Parents for Choice in Education, www.parentchoice.ca.
