Canadian Supreme Court ruling: 

Teaching about same-sex parenting in public schools

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Quotations:

About rights cases in North American courts:

It would seem that many decisions by the Supreme Courts of both the U.S. and Canada relate to a conflict of rights -- as the Canadian Supreme Court wrote in this case: an "Accommodation or Balancing Between Competing Interests" is required. ₁ For example:

In 2002-DEC-20, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled on one of these civil rights matters. The case involved a conflict between:

Surrey is "a sprawling, rapidly growing city of 350,000 southeast of Vancouver. Approximately one-half of [its]... residents are members of a racial or ethnic minority." ₃ Surrey is known for a high concentration of incidences involving religious intolerance.

Book banning by the Surrey School Board:

In 1997, teacher James Chamberlain wanted to use three books in his Kindergarten and Grade One classes as resources. They describe same-sex couples who are raising children. The books were "Asha's Mums," ₇ "One Dad, Two Dads, Brown Dads, Blue Dads" ₈ and "Belinda's Bouquet." ₉ The books had not been pre-approved by the provincial Ministry of Education, so Chamberlain had to apply to the Surrey School Board for approval to use them. "The books feature children who have two moms or two dads. The parents from Chamberlain's classroom read the books and made a presentation to the school board in favor of their use. Seventeen of twenty families from Chamberlain's classroom signed a petition which they presented to the trustees asking for the books to be approved. The Board refused to allow the books to be used anywhere in the District because there were parents who complained that their religious beliefs would be offended by acknowledging in the classroom that there are children who have same gender parents." The vote was 4 to 2. Their decision resulted in about 5,000 letters supporting the ban, and about 1,000 in opposition. ₁₀ In a public opinion poll conducted by Campbell Goodell Traynor Consultants Ltd. on behalf of school board lawyers, 61% of area adults were found to agree that the "three proposed books dealing with same- sex couples should not be used in kindergarten and grade 1 classrooms under any circumstances." ₁₄

The court case Chamberlain et al v. Surrey School Board:

Five teachers and Rosamund Elwin, author of Asha's Mums, initiated a lawsuit. "Hindus, Sikhs, Catholics and Protestants are among those who...filed 65 affidavits in the Supreme Court in support of the school board’s decision. One affidavit was submitted by 32 evangelical churches. As a parent of young children, says Surrey Alliance pastor Garry Bruce, he wants to take the responsibility himself for teaching his children about lifestyles. 'I don’t want to give the responsibility to the teachers'." ₁₅

The trial judge ruled that the Board's ban breached the School Act which required the schools to be run on "strictly secular" and not "significantly influenced by religious considerations". The School Board's costs, including a substantial award to the plaintiffs, exceeded $500,000 CDN by this time. The Board successfully appealed to the BC Court of Appeal in 1999. That court delivered an ambiguous ruling that although the board refused to approve the books for general classroom use, that the books could, if available in school libraries, be used on an as-needed basis in the professional judgment of teachers. ₁

Education Minister Paul Ramsay was concerned about the harassment of gay students, and children of gay parents, in B.C. schools. He warned the school board trustees that he would not allow further intolerance by them. This prompted thirty Baptist, Pentecostal and Lutheran churches in his Prince George riding to launch a petition for his recall. They criticized him as being "pro-gay" and "anti-family." ₆

Supported by the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and other groups, the petitioners appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada, which heard the case on 2002-JUN-12.

In a 7 to 2 decision, the Supreme Court of Canada overruled the lower court's ruling. They decided that the need for tolerance and an understanding of diversity outweighed the desires of the parents and school board trustees. Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin wrote, in part: "Parental views, however important, cannot override the imperative placed upon the British Columbia public schools to mirror the diversity of the community and teach tolerance and understanding of difference." ₁₁ They decided that in a conflict between those who would marginalize and discriminate against same-sex committed relationships, and those who would support the right of same-sex families to coexist alongside opposite-sex families, that the school board should teach inclusiveness and diversity. The court ruled that the school board "violated the principles of secularism and tolerance" implicit in Section 76 of British Columbia's School Act, which requires them to provide a "secular education." The court argued that "Section 76 does not limit in any way the freedom of parents and board members to adhere to a religious doctrine that condemns homosexuality. [However, the law]... "does prohibit the translation of such doctrine into policy decisions by the board, to the extent that they reflect a denial of the validity of other points of view." Chief Justice McLachlin wrote: "Instead of proceeding on the basis of respect for all types of families, the board proceeded on an exclusionary philosophy, acting on the concern of certain parents about the morality of same-sex relationships, without considering the interest of same-sex parented families and the children who belong to them in receiving equal recognition and respect in the school system....Freedom of religion is not diminished, but is safeguarded, by the state's abstention from favoring or promoting any specific religious creed." ₁₁ The court has ordered the school board to reconsider its decision. Some has speculated that the board will review the books during 2003, conclude that the books are simply not age-appropriate for students in kindergarten and Grade 1, and vote to continue the ban.

Reactions by conservative Christian groups:

These groups feel that since most parents in the area are opposed to tolerance towards, and equal recognition of, same-sex committed relationships, that their school board should be allowed to insulate their children from information on those relationships.

Reaction by other groups: