Burnaby’s Policy 5.45

Here’s a letter I just wrote to The Parents’ Voice, a group protesting a policy by the Burnaby School District to protect the students and staff of that school district from homophobia. This is their web site: http://www.theparentsvoice.org/Welcome.html

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To whom it may concern

I am a concerned citizen who have been hearing about your group’s challenge concerning the Burnaby School Disctrict’s policy 5.45. What I am trying to understand is what your opposition is, as your website’s press release is somewhat unclear. From your press release and my questions and comments in red:

“The writers of this draft policy have made a fundamental error,” explained George Kovacic to Burnaby school trustees during an April 26th public meeting.  “They have attempted to eliminate discrimination against one group of people but in doing so, they have simply displaced the discrimination from one group onto others.”

The Policy states: “Support inclusion of all students and employees in all aspects of school life, irrespective of their real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.” This includes protection and support for all. I wonder if you may be confused because of the fact that currently, it is the LGBT community that is being victimized by members of the straight community and not the other way around.

The draft policy aims to eradicate “heterosexism,” which it claims, “perpetuates negative stereotypes and is dangerous to individuals and communities.” In effect, this draft policy will label as “dangerous” any individual who adheres to beliefs in conformity with their moral convictions which includes the recognition of marriage as exclusively between one man and one woman.  By counseling children that they and their parents hold “dangerous beliefs” is a form of bullying and name-calling directed by the school against children. Schools must be safe environments for all children. No child should be singled out for affirming a belief contrary to that of his or her peers.

Your views here appear to be a situation where you are “blaming the victim”. Just as a criminal cannot call himself a victim because the police won’t allow him to commit a crime, people who bully others cannot say they are the ones being bullied because they are told they are no longer allowed to victimize others.

Educational authorities have the obligation to respect parents as the primary educators of their children and may not impose a system of education unless it is granted the express permission of the parent to do so.  Parental rights are recognized by international agreements and are consistent with the exercise of fundamental freedoms protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.  Within the scope of parental rights lies the right to teach their children values that are in conformity with their beliefs regarding the family, marriage, and sex. Draft policy 5.45 diminishes parental rights by embedding mandatory education in a specific sexual doctrine into the day-to-day curriculum.  This effectively removes any avenue available to parents to exempt their child from the curriculum.

Parental rights do not and should not supersede the standards of the society within which they live. What about the parental rights of those whose children are being harassed, bullied, or otherwise victimized by those who consider them to be lesser people? You also cannot demand that your wishes be respected when your wishes directly work to diminish the rights of others.

The Burnaby School District has not provided sufficient opportunity to inform parents about draft policy 5.45.  Given the serious concerns surrounding this draft, the Burnaby School District must engage all members of the diverse communities within Burnaby Public Schools to develop a policy that truly reflects inclusivity and acceptance of all children.

If this is the intent of your protest actions, then you need to realize that your message is getting lost. Imagine how it would appear if instead, you were protesting a policy that specifies ethnicity (East Indian, Asian, African, etc.) as groups to be protected from those of a European ancestry? In this case, would it be surprising if your group was considered racist rather than homophobic?

I implore you as reasonable adults to reconsider your stance. What is wrong about teaching our youth a sense of tolerance to all people, no matter what their differences are? What does this message send to your children, some of whom are part of the LGBT community but are afraid to say so because of fear of rejection by parents who hold such beliefs?

For those of you who are taking this stance because of your religious convictions, I want you to ask yourself what your god would want. Would he want us to love and have tolerance or would he seek to divide us? As an eloquent politician from Minnesota recently said, “How many gays must God create before we accept that he wants them around?” To view the entire speech, watch here.

Thank you for your attention.

Signed, someone who was once one of your children.