We believe a tipping point has been reached in Canada. Without immediate intervention, parental rights to direct the moral education of their own children will be lost in several respects.
The push to eradicate parental rights is so aggressive, and the tipping point is so dire, that we believe seeking remedy from elected officials, while important, will not succeed by itself as a strategy. The only viable way to pull Canada back from this tipping point is for parents and other stakeholders to fight back in the courts. That means lawsuits.
WHAT IS THE THREAT FACING PARENTS?
There is a disturbing trend in Canada’s educational system which is seeing inherent parental rights get trampled by a belligerent, government ideology . This state ideology seems determined to eradicate all traces of judeo-christian morality from society, and is using our schools to achieve that goal.
The charter right to religious freedom is being aggressively subverted by Ministry of Education and school board policies across Canada that are indoctrinating children in the classroom with philosophies that undermine the religious beliefs of their parents.
EXAMPLE FROM QUEBEC
Quebec’s Ministry of Education is forcing all students in the province, whether in private or public school, to take a mandatory course in ‘moral relativism’, euphemistically named Ethics and Religious Culture. It teaches for instance, that all religions and ethical choices are equal. In an appeal process that is still ongoing, a Quebec Superior Court decision provided exemption for a private Catholic boys’ school, ruling that the government was “totalitarian” to impose its course on that school. The Quebec government has since appealed that decision to the Supreme court, at great cost to the families involved.
EXAMPLES FROM ONTARIO
Premier Dalton McGuinty has rolled out implementation of his gay equity policy for the 2011 school year. It is called the Equity and Inclusive Education Strategy” (EIES) and targets both Catholic and public schools. The EIES uses the classroom as a vehicle to indoctrinate students into total acceptance of the homosexual lifestyle, a controversial idea which attacks the religious beliefs that the majority of parents, especially new immigrants, try to instil in their kids at home. This represents an unconstitutional abuse of power, using state-sponsored propaganda to subvert parents’ rights over the moral education of their own kids. Dalton McGuinty also admitted at Toronto’s 2011 gay pride parade, that his government is aiming to change “attitudes” on homosexuality, a process he says “should begin in the home.”
The role of government does not include setting children against the religious beliefs of their parents. Yet, below are a few examples from McGuinty’s EIE government documents which illustrate this is precisely what’s happening. McGuinty’s EIE directive recommends that all schools should:
- celebrate the Gay Pride Parade as “equity-related work”
- set up openly homosexual student clubs know as ‘Gay-Straight Alliances’ (GSAs)
- use texts written by gay/lesbian authors
- help teachers to “modify personal beliefs”
The negative effects of this controversial directive have already been seen in the following examples:
- The Toronto District School Board announced that it will no longer allow parents to opt-out their kids from gay-positive lessons, nor provide parental notification of such lessons, even if requested. Teachers will be compelled to teach this material, even if it conflicts with their religious beliefs.
- The Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board told a Christian parent that his request to be notified about gay-affirming lessons will not be accommodated, nor is he allowed to withdraw his kids. They said it would be “discriminatory” to honour his request.
- Ontario’s Catholic bishops were bullied by government officials into allowing homosexual‘anti-bullying’ clubs in Catholic schools. These misguided clubs are set to begin September 2011. A member of the Bishop’s committee overseeing these clubs has already admitted that they are simply GSAs with a different name.
Dalton McGuinty’s controversial equity doctrine has now spread to other provinces, with similar policies popping up in Burnaby, BC and Edmonton, AB. It will spread across Canada
YOUR BEST RECOURSE - “I'LL SEE YOU IN COURT"
If parents do not beat back this government incursion against parent rights, it will usher in an era of persecution, against people of faith, like never seen before in Canada. The Parental Rights in Education Defense Fund has been created to help parents fight back, in the courts. The constitution and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms is on our side.
Our legal defence fund will immediately provide financial assistance to parents in Toronto and Hamilton initiating lawsuits against two different school boards over their unconstitutional suppression of religious freedom and conscience rights. These lawsuits seek to entrench a guaranteed right for all parents in Ontario to withdraw their children from lessons that violate their religious beliefs.
Requests for assistance in other school board jurisdictions across Canada will be assessed based on the merits of the application and the fund’s financial resources. Assistance may also be extended to students and teachers asserting legal claims.
A number of parents have also approached us with a desire to take legal action against Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and/or the Ministry of Education. This action would have the objective of abolishing the oppressive EIES directive altogether, on grounds that it is unconstitutional. Lawyers working on behalf of the potential plaintifs are assessing the likelihood of success in such a legal action. They will only recommend such an action if they believe that there is a significant likelihood of success in the Courts, based on current evidence.
While legal action is the surest avenue to protect parental rights, it also carries the largest financial burden, especially against governments and school boards which have virtually unlimited budgets.
WE CAN TAKE BACK GROUND TO RESTORE LIBERTY!
But not without your help. Each lawsuit could cost from $30,000 to $200,000 depending how far the legal action is forced to go (i.e. settlements, appeals, etc).
While we are currently focused on providing financial assistance for actions in Ontario, there will certainly be a need to provide financial assistance to parents, students and teachers in other parts Canada. The challenges being brought in Hamilton and Toronto will hopefully set a precedent to be used by parents across Canada.
We need a significant war chest to help plaintiffs launch their lawsuits. Can we count on you to donate $100 toward this urgent legal defence fund? Or any amount you can afford? Hopefully, some can donate $200, $500, $1000 or more.
Please donate now by mailing a cheque to:
The Parental Rights in Education Defense Fund31 Adelaide Street E., P.O. Box 1108
Toronto, ON
M5C 2K6
Unfortunately we cannot issue tax receipts because Canada’s charitable tax rules do not permit it for groups involved in work related to political issues. Our Directors will use the money only to pay for legal fees and associated expenses. We are non-profit volunteers and do not take any salary or remuneration for ourselves.
CONTACT INFOThe Parental Rights in Education Defense Fun |
BOARD OF DIRECTORSLou Iacobelli |
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