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The bill pretends to be about anti-bullying, but in reality, is trying to sneak in a radical, sexualized agenda by legislating the Premier’s gay “equity” curriculum, thus giving it the force of law.
The proposed legislation contains several other components that attack freedom of religion, freedom of association and parental rights. A subsequent press conference by opponents of the bill, generated a firestorm of media coverage, a summary of which is provided at a special web page here.
This article will outline some of the most problematic elements of Dalton's Bill 13.
Problem 1: Homosexual-activist clubs imposed on schools
Part 9 of the Bill will require, by law, that all schools, including Catholic, permit openly homosexual student clubs. These clubs are called gay-straight alliances (GSAs) although the bill permits similar clubs by another name. In the United States where GSAs have been common for over 15 years, they are known for being hubs of homosexual activism that celebrate gay pride, and agitate for things like same-sex marriage.
It's clear therefore that McGuinty's big talk about "respect for all students" is a lie. There will be no respect granted to Christian students with traditional values, nor those from other faiths. This is a discriminatory mandate against Christians that is written for the very purpose of marginalizing those with traditional family values, and indoctrinating the rest. To see the true face of GSAs, read about Parkside High School in Dundas, ON. This sort of Christophobic activity is common in GSAs across North America. In Catholic schools it may be more subtle, more indirect, but will have the same effect of contradicting Catholic doctrine. It's clear this bill has a radical agenda to get kids to reject the religious beliefs held by their families regarding homosexuality.
Problem 2: Disputed 6-gender theory will be taught as a given, thus confusing children
The gay equity curriculum being legislated by part 2 of Bill 13 also expects teachers to promote the concept of “gender-fluidity” as early as kindergarten. This is the disputed notion that a child’s gender is not necessarily connected to their anatomy and that it’s perfectly normal for little boys to think they’re little girls, and vice-versa. The gay equity curriculum of the Ontario government describes gender as being "socially-constructed".
Bill 13 redefines gender to consist not only of male or femal, but to also include the disputed 6-gender theory of LGBTTIQ, which stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Transsexual, Two-spirited, Intersexed and Queer. This redefinition is contained in the pre-amble of the bill and in the guiding documents of the Equity & Inclusive Education Strategy that will be codified in law by Bill 13.
The bill will also codify in law controversial theories such as “heterosexism”, a term which carries a political agenda of social engineering, thereby making it a defacto part of school curriculum.
Problem 3: Classroom indoctrination will be rampant via books, flyers, awareness campaigns, external presentations and lessons that aim to normalize homosexual 'marriage' and the gay lifestyle
The gay Equity curriculum being codified in law recommends that all schools, including Catholic, participate in the gay pride parade. The Toronto District School Board has already written into its Equity & Inclusive Education policy that teachers ought to get Grade 3 children to cut out images from the gay pride parade, and to hold their own gay pride parade in the school.
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Contrary to what you may hear from some Catholic education leaders, many Catholic schools will also succumb to this indoctrination agenda because teachers and administrators who disagree with, or misunderstand Catholic teaching, will follow the "spirit", if not the letter, of Dalton McGuinty's gay equity mandate. One example that provides proof of this, is a recent pamphlet produced by the Peterborough Victoria Northumberland Catholic School Board which proudly displays the Gay Pride Flag.
The Catholic board's pamphlet also promotes the 2005 redefinition of marriage in an uncritical tone, in a manner that is certain to be perceived as a "societal acheivement".
It is difficult to claim Catholicism will not be watered down with proof like this. This sort of gay "equity" propaganda is certain to overwhelm the Catholic system after Bill 13 is passed. To view the complete PVNC "Equity" pamphlet, click here.
Problem 4: May allow the take-over of curriculum in private schools
Also worrisome is an analysis of the Bill by the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada which suggests that the sections of the Education Act amended by bill 13 may also govern private schools. If that's the case, it means that Dalton McGuinty will have the power to impose gay clubs and the 7-gender LGBTTIQ theory even upon private christian, muslim or jewish schools, wherever students request them.
Problem 5: Creates an "enemies list" to ban use of property by Christian churches and private organizations
Dr. Roland Thomas from The Evangelical Association has pointed out another dangerous clause, part 7 in the bill, which appears to target churches and Christian groups. The clause prohibits rental or use of public schools by external organizations who do not comply with the “provincial code of conduct”.
What on earth does renting space to external groups have to do with preventing one kid from bullying another? Nothing. That's why it's clear there's another agenda at play. Dr. Thomas pointed out that the provincial code of conduct can be changed at any time to suit the whim of the ruling government. Given this bill's obsession with sex education, it's clear where things are headed. Dr. Thomas said that hundreds of evangelical churches currently rent space for worship services from public schools. This clause, he predicted, would be used to ban those churches should they dare to preach, or be known to preach, about biblical passages that deal with human sexuality.
Could this clause potentially prohibit Christian groups, even in Catholic schools? For example, would the Vatican-approved Courage™ ministry for persons with same-sex attraction, be considered in violation of the “code of conduct” for its known opposition to homosexual behaviour? It seems crazy, but one year ago, the thought of openly homosexual clubs in Catholic schools seemed crazy too, and yet, here they are being imposed.
Problem 6: New definition of 'bullying' borrows dangerous language from the discredited "censorship provision" of the Canadian Human Rights Act
In Part 1a of Bill 13, McGuinty has rewritten the definition of bullying to include "behaviour by a pupil where... the behaviour would be likely to cause harm, fear or distress to another individual..." (emphasis added).
Who gets to interpret whether a certain behaviour is "likely" to cause fear or distress? It's important to note that no actual harm, fear or distress needs to take place for something to be labeled as bullying. Only somebody's subjective interpretation that a behaviour, speech, or attitude was "likely" to cause those things. Make no mistake, this definition is designed to censor certain opinions.
If the criticism of this language sounds familiar, it's because you may've heard it over the past few years in relation to the quasi-judicial, Human Rights Commissions, or "thought police", as they've been described by critics. For years, these kangaroo courts have been persecuting Christians with a censorship provision contained within the Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA). That provision also contains the "likely to" language in relation to "hate speech". It permitted government bureaucrats to prosecute people if they "felt" the speech "offended" certain groups, usually homosexual activists.
No actual harm needed to take place for a conviction, nor any evidence of harm. Merely the subjective interpretation by a bureaucrat that the speech it was "likely" to cause harm or just plain old "hurt feelings". Are you starting to see why McGuinty's inclusion of similar language in the definition of bullying is problematic?
Due to the censorship provision of the CHRA, pastors, a Catholic bishop, Christian teachers, christian business owners and others were given ruinous fines, ordered never to speak again on certain subjects and forced to violate their religious beliefs.
This censorship provision was so egregious to free speech, that the federal MP Brian Storseth put forward private-members bill C-304 to repeal the censorship provision from the CHRA, thus defanging the HRC thought police. On February 15, 2012 the federal parliament passed a second reading vote to repeal that provision. It is almost certain to pass third reading.
So here we have politicians at the federal level repealing language that they know leads to abuse and at the same time, Dalton McGuinty is inserting that same, discredited language into his definition of bullying. Simply outrageous. Make no mistake, this new, subjective interpretation of bullying will be used to target students and teachers who dare to profess their biblically-based beliefs about human sexuality, regardless of how lovingly or respectfully they do so.
Problem 7: Embeds anti-Christian slur into school curriculum
Part 4 of the Bill adds an invented term taken straight from the lexicon of the gay lobby: "homophobia". Let's be clear about one thing. 'Homophobia' is a propaganda term designed to marginalize Christians. See the ambiguous definition of "homophobia" provided by McGuinty's Ministry of Education below:
This Ministry definition is very problematic because it does not make any exception for Christians (or other faiths) who oppose homosexual acts due to sincerely held religious beliefs. Neither does this definition make exceptions for the Holy Bible, nor the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The latter documents also may be interpreted as "homophobia" under this deliberately ambiguous, open-ended definition.
The overwhelming majority of Christians have total love towards individuals who experience homosexual attraction. We acknowledge their innate dignity and love them as complete persons: mind, body and soul. We simply disagree with the behaviour. Despite assertions to the contrary, it is possible to love a person, yet disagree with their behaviour. And yet, the definition of homophobia put forward by Premier McGuinty can label all Christians and people of faith as suffering from a phony, psychological illness called "homophobia" which, manifests itself in the form of "hostility" and "negative bias" towards those who experience same-sex attraction. Nothing could be farther from the truth. This propaganda term is discriminatory towards people with traditional Judeo-Christian beliefs. Bill 13 will put this anti-Christian slur on the lips of every school teacher in Ontario. Those who object will themselves be labeled "homophobic".
Problem 8: Ignores the main cause of bullying
Bill 13, while purporting to reduce bullying of ALL students, completely ignores the most common reason students are bullied: their physical appearance. Kids are bullied most often for being fat, skinny, wearing glasses, hair style, not having the "cool" clothes, and many other reasons. Think back to your own experiences on the playground and you'll probably agree. Instead of targetting the # 1 cause of bullying however, Bill 13 ignores it completely. Instead it focuses obsessively on sexual orientation and promoting the sexual concepts of gender identity. As Toronto Sun columnist, Christina Blizzard put it, "the bill sounds more like a political statement about gay rights than a piece of legislation".
Why this glaring omission on the main cause of bullying? It's because this bill was never intended to reduce bullying. It has a hidden agenda of social engineering, in the area of sexuality. That's why.
Dalton McGuinty's government has justified it's special focus on sexual orientation and the disputed theory of "gender identity", by pointing to a dubious survey by EGALE, the very same gay-activist lobby group who coordinated and funded lawsuits across Canada against the true definition of marriage. This dubious survey gives the false impression that students who identify as LGBTTIQ get bullied vastly out of proportion in comparison to their heterosexual peers, something which simply has not been proven. To learn why this survey by the most powerful gay lobby group in Canada is misleading, read this analysis by The Interim newspaper.
Bryan Lilly did an excellent exposé on his Sun News TV program, explaining how the McGuinty government and many of those pushing bill 13, have mislead Ontarians about the true causes of bullying, in order to push an agenda-laden piece of legislation that has ulterior motives of a political nature. Watch the segment here.
Problem 9: Transfers power from parents to big government
Bill 13 weakens democracy by shifting power away from parents (through their duly elected trustee) to the Ontario government. In Section 2, it grants the Minister of Education extra powers to force duly-elected school boards to change their Equity & Inclusive Education policy as she/he dictates
We know that in practice, it is government bureaucrats who often do much of this work and policy writing, with the help of special interest groups. Therefore, Bill 13 will effectively take power away from the local level, and transfer it to nameless, faceless bureaucrats who are far removed from the people it affects.
Parents and trustees have already lost too much control to big government. This additional loss of control is not welcome, especially where Dalton McGuinty's Equity policy is known to carry a sexualized, social engineering agenda.
HOW TO TAKE ACTION
1. CONTACT THESE KEY PROVINCIAL REPRESENTATIVES WITH YOUR CONCERNS
- Search by postal code for your local MPP, here. Please ask them to introduce a bill to repeal the controversial Accepting Schools Act.
- For Tim Hudak, Leader of the Opposition, go here and click the tab.
- For Lisa MacLeod, Education Critic, go here, then the tab.
2. DOWNLOAD A PETITION CREATED BY OUR CAMPAIGN LIFE CATHOLICS DIVISION
The petition signatures will be presented to Ontario's MPPs:
To read the McGuinty/Wynne, Trojan horse Bill 13 in its entirety:
To read an alternate anti-bullying bill (Bill 14) by PC MPP Elizabeth Witmer, ultimately rejected by the Liberal government, which did NOT contain a sexual agenda:
We supported Bill 14 (not Bill 13) as a legitimate attempt to reduce bullying.