A Wetpaint Site | TV Fandex 100

Sign in to Wetpaint

Sign in or

Location: AERA Queer Studies SIG Discussion Forum

Discussion: Gay Ontario Catholic teacher being fired possibly

Category: Discussion Forum / General Discussion

Report thread
Watch thread
Share this

Showing 9 posts

Leighhyatt	Gay Ontario Catholic teacher being fired possibly Jan 1 2009, 5:39 PM EST \| Post edited: Jan 1 2009, 5:39 PM EST Hi people, I just came across this story on a website and I was wondering if anyone has heard of it. Apparently the Catholic board found out he married another man, and are trying to get rid of him. I don't think this is cut and dry like in the past since same-sex marriage is legal in Canada, and Ontario's Catholic schools are fully funded by the government, not private institutions. This could be a very interesting case, and is very relevant to me since I teach at an Ontario catholic school and have thought about marrying my partner. Post reply Do you find this valuable? Keyword tags: None
GeraldWalton	1. RE: Gay Ontario Catholic teacher being fired possibly Jan 9 2009, 8:12 AM EST \| Post edited: Jan 9 2009, 8:12 AM EST Thanks for this. Let's not forget that Marc Hall attended a Catholic school that was also publicly funded. He won his human rights case against that board for not allowing him to take his same-sex partner to the prom. As are non-religious school boards, Catholic boards are bound by human rights legislation. The tricky part of the case you brought to our attention is that he would have to have proof that he is (or could be) ousted because his partner is a man as opposed to some other reason irrelevant to his sexuality identity and family composition. There's my 2 cents worth. Post reply Do you find this valuable?
lizjmeyer	2. RE: Gay Ontario Catholic teacher being fired possibly Jan 9 2009, 8:36 AM EST \| Post edited: Jan 9 2009, 8:36 AM EST This is an interesting case and I want to read more about it. I want to clarify a point that Gerald made about the Marc Hall case: Marc Hall got a preliminary injunction to allow him to attend the prom, but did not pursue the full case since he got what he wanted. So no actual legal precedent was set in Catholic Schools aside from this initial decision. I agree with Gerald's point that since Catholic Schools are publicly funded they are expected to uphold the Canadian Charter - especially s. 15. Does anyone know the name of the teacher or the school board? I'd be interested in reading more -- I usually get this stuff through EGALE, and it doesn't sound like they are in on it yet either... Post reply Do you find this valuable?
Leighhyatt	3. RE: Gay Ontario Catholic teacher being fired possibly Jan 9 2009, 9:13 PM EST \| Post edited: Jan 9 2009, 9:13 PM EST The article I came across is from a website advocating secular views, and the teacher is only identified by as Mr. X. While I agree with Gerald that as a publicly-funded board the Cathoic system is subject to both the Ontario Human Rights Code and the Charter, unfortunately denominational schools have special exemptions which allow them to discriminate in terms of hiring and firing of employees. I spoke confidentially to my union president two days ago, and he told me that if the school board found out I was actively gay (the sounds so 1950s, ha ha) or entered a same-sex marriage, they could definitely fire me. Post reply Do you find this valuable?
lizjmeyer	4. RE: Gay Ontario Catholic teacher being fired possibly Jan 10 2009, 12:20 AM EST Wow. I find this surprising considering the Vriend decision. Are you familiar with this case? It was about a lab employee at a Christian college in Alberta being fired for being gay. It set the precedent for "sexual orientation" (from the Egan v. Canada decision) to be read into provincial human rights codes. It would be worth looking at more closely. I agree the concept of being "actively gay" or a "practicing homosexual" seems odd. What is an "active straight" or "practicing heterosexual"? If you are in a sexless heterosexual marriage -- does that count as "practicing" are we talking about behaviors or identities? It is just so...antiquated and restricting. What about someone who is a "practicing asexual" ... just made me wonder. Post reply Do you find this valuable?
TonyaCallaghan	5. RE: Gay Ontario Catholic teacher being fired possibly Jan 11 2009, 4:14 PM EST Hi Leigh, Liz and Gerald: The article Leigh draws to our attention points to a little known or understood detail about publicly-funded Catholic schools in Canada. As publicly-funded institutions, Catholic schools are theoretically bound to uphold the laws of the land (provincial human rights legislation, provincial teachers' codes of professional conduct, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Canadian criminal code etc.) but in practice they often wiggle out of such obligations if they perceive there to be a conflict with Catholic doctrine. The Marc Hall case had great potential to pit section 2 (the Charter's freedom of religion) against section 15 (the Charter's equality clause), but, as Liz pointed out, Hall was awarded an interlocutory injunction allowing him to take his boyfriend as his date to his prom. There was no constitutional debate in this case. However, there are some very interesting developments on the Canadian scene regarding the limits of religious freedom in the current polygamy charges being laid against two leaders of the Fundamentalist Church of The Latter Day Saints, Mr. Winston Blackmore and Mr. James Oler. I have been watching the developments of this case since it has implications for how Canadian Catholic schools can operate. Contrary to popular belief, non-heterosexuals can indeed be fired by their Canadian Catholic school employer if they are found to be "practicing" homosexuality. This may seem hard for Canadians to digest because many of us are aware of the protections against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation provided by section 15 of the Charter. Catholic school boards in practice, however, often fly in the face of the laws of the land claiming they can demand of their employees that they uphold all tenets of the Catholic faith. According to Catholic doctrine, it is okay to be gay as long as one does not act on it. It's an interesting loophole, and one I am exploring. Post reply Do you find this valuable?
TonyaCallaghan	6. RE: Gay Ontario Catholic teacher being fired possibly Jan 11 2009, 4:37 PM EST Dear Leigh, Would you be so kind as to post the URL to the article you saw on the Internet? I can't seem to find it. Cheers, Tonya Post reply Do you find this valuable?
TonyaCallaghan	7. RE: Gay Ontario Catholic teacher being fired possibly Jan 11 2009, 4:49 PM EST Dear Leigh, Is this the correct URL to the story you mentioned? http://secularearth.com/Resources/PastFeaturedArticles/tabid/86/ctl/ArticleView/mid/478/articleId/162/Catholic-Church-Trying-to-Out-Gay-Teacher.aspx Cheers, Tonya Post reply Do you find this valuable?
Leighhyatt	8. RE: Gay Ontario Catholic teacher being fired possibly Jan 11 2009, 8:13 PM EST Hi Tonya, yeah that's the correct address. As you are aware, my uneasiness began a couple of years ago when a colleague who's husband is a vice-principal in the Halton Catholic Board told me that a gay teacher at his school was being fired. I don't know the details of the case, but was told that "he was really obvious" suggesting this may have been the sole criteria for his firing. I had a wake-up call to the real danger I was in regarding my employment. I'm also very frustrated by the lack of awareness most Canadian gay and lesbian organizations have regarding this outrageous violation of human rights. Hopefully this will eventually change. Post reply Do you find this valuable?

JavaScript must be enabled in order for you to contribute to this site.
To start contributing, enable JavaScript by changing your browser options, then try again.

Home