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Queer Ontario May 23, 2013

Toronto Catholic District School Board Meeting

Deputation Regarding Motion:Anti-Bullying Clubs Policy Change

Queer Ontario is a provincial network of gender and sexually diverse individuals and

their allies who are committed to questioning, challenging, and reforming the laws,

institutional practices, and social norms that regulate queer people.

We at Queer Ontario worked very hard on and had an integral role in the contents and

enactment ofBill 13: The Accepting Schools Act, for we believe it sets out much needed

and effective policy that promotes safety, inclusion, acceptance and respect towards the

creation of a positive and supportive learning environment for all students regardless oftheir sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression and regardless of what school

board they are enrolled in, in Ontario. It is for these reasons that we urge TCDSB schooltrustees to not support the motion Anti-Bullying Clubs Policy Change.

When issues of religious faith and rights based on sexual orientation, gender identity and

gender expression, are pitted against each other, it is termed as competing rights by theOntario Human Rights Commission. Such competing rights are becoming increasingly

prevalent in our diversified society. How we deal with them is crucial in determining

their resolve.

Essentially, what the motion before you is calling you to support is a legal challenge toexisting legislation. The proposal therein that the TCDSB adhere to the RespectingDifferences framework, as opposed to GSAs, is highly problematic for the former falls

far short of addressing the important issues that the latter does. This will inevitably send

you down a path of adversarial litigation placing vulnerable students in the crossfire.

Alternatively, we recommend that if the TCDSB does not already have a conflict

resolution process in place, that one be created. If one exists, we urge that a specified

process that deals with competing rights in particular be instituted. We furtherrecommend that should such a process be instituted it be modeled on a deliberative

consultation process in which differences are discussed, deliberated and a resolve sought

in a mutually respectful manner.

We at Queer Ontario make these recommendations with full knowledge that competing

rights are not going away. We are seriously opposed to the tabled motion as it proposesto instill systemic discrimination based on homophobia, heterosexism and cisgenderism

that ultimately disrespects and harms LGBTQ-identified students and their allies. We

hope you will give serious consideration to our recommendations including voting

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against this motion, for the very sake we are all here today the safety and wellbeing of

students in the TCDSB.

Thank you,

Nick MulChairperson,

Queer Ontario