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NDP launch petition to protect teachers

Bill 44 distrustful of educators, denies children the facts: Mason, teachers

EDMONTON - NDP leader Brian Mason was joined by a local-area teacher and a member of the Alberta Retired Teachers' Association today for the launch of an NDP petition to amend Bill 44.

Bill 44 is a proposed amendment to the Alberta's Human Rights code that threatens to haul teachers before the human rights commission if they inadvertently address issues such as sexuality, religion, or evolution in the classroom.

"This Bill will have a chilling effect on teachers who address issues that are deemed to be publicly sensitive," Mason said.

"It undermines the fabric of our public education system, and threatens to put teachers at risk of persecution, prosecution and penalty for engaging students in critical debate.

DOWNLOAD & PRINT THE PETITION HERE!

"Our goal with this petition is to show the Premier that fear about this Bill is widespread. We must protect a child's right to objective education in public system, and a teacher's right to provide it without fear of retribution," Mason added.

Don McPherson, a teacher of 25 years, said Bill 44 could stifle the passion teachers rely on to inspire their students.

"If teachers are constantly under threat of being investigated by the thought police, they will lose that passion," he said.

Dr. David Flower, a former teacher who also spent 25 years working for the Alberta Teachers' Association, said the Bill supersedes the existing chain of accountability in schools.

"Teachers are already accountable to parents, principles, superintendents, and the Education Minister. To cast all of that aside and have to appear before a human rights tribunal is a chilling thought.

 

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