Policy 5.45 is the school district's attempt to stamp out homophobic bullying in schools. No other education issue in recent memory has raised so much controversy in Burnaby. There have been rallies (both for and against), impassioned speeches at school board meetings and death threats, Angry parents turned out in droves this past summer and formed an ad hoc group against the policy, and that group has now morphed into Burnaby Parents' Voice, a political party running five trustee candidates.
The Burnaby NOW talked with some key school board hopefuls about their views on the policy and what they would do if elected. Since primacy of parental authority in education has also been a recurring issue in the debate, we also asked them how they would handle a hypothetical situation if their kids came home from school and said the teacher told them it was OK to be gay.
GORDON WORLD, BURNABY PARENTS' VOICE:
World has two elementary-aged kids in the Burnaby school system. If their teachers were telling the class it's OK to be gay, World would hope his kids would be absent from that talk.
"Ideally, my kids wouldn't be there for that discussion because ideally the school would have notified me, and I would have removed them from the discussion that day and fulfilled the learning outcomes at home," World said. "Putting valued judgments, saying lifestyle X is OK, that's a moral judgment. It goes beyond presenting facts."
World declined to discuss his reasons for opposing homosexuality.
"I don't want to get into that," he said. "At the end of the day, it's about opinions, it's not a valued judgment."
Although Burnaby Parents' Voice formed from a movement against the policy, World says they wouldn't necessarily repeal it if elected.
"I'd open it back up again to the people, the primary stakeholders. At the end of the day, we are a democracy. Whatever the wishes of the people are would be abided by," he said.
"We would certainly reopen it. I'd like to see a more holistic policy in place to address all forms of bullying, and I'd like to see more actionable steps to implementing those things."
However, World was quoted on a Nov. 9 article by LifeSiteNews.com, a Catholic pro-life website, as stating that he would "seek to redress the debacle created by the 'homophobia/heterosexism' policy by using a 'holistic approach' that gets to the 'roots of bullying and self-harm.'" He went on to say that school staff would be required to intervene to stop unacceptable behaviours and language while acknowledging the diversity of belief in a pluralistic democracy.
When questioned by the NOW on this, World said his comments were not at odds with his approach to the policy and that he was referring to the issues around the policy, not the policy itself.
PABLO SU, TEAM BURNABY:
Pablo Su cited policy 5.45 as the reason he decided to run in the first place.
The main problem, as he saw it, is the policy's intent to protect a select group of students instead of all kids. Su said the policy should cover more types of targets for bullying, nerdy and obese, for instance.
"It should be a more inclusive policy, and it should protect all children," he said.
Su has two kids in Burnaby schools, one in Grade 4, and the other in Grade 8.
"My children, even at home, we teach respect for others and acceptance," he said.
As for kids raised outside the Su household, who may disrespect and harass gay kids, he said that that's where the anti-bullying part of the policy comes in place.
If TEAM Burnaby were elected to school board, Su said they would let the policy stand.
"(Policy) 5.45 has been passed. It's a policy. We are not going to repeal it. We will monitor the usage of 5.45. It's intended to protect the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, queer) community from bullying, and that's great, but on top of that, I would actually like to protect everyone at risk, not just a specific segment of the population," he said.
But, he said that TEAM would monitor the policy's implementation to make sure it's being used in line with its intent.
"I just didn't want this to be a platform for certain beliefs," he said. "It shouldn't be a forum for gay lifestyles, but I think understanding and acceptance is the first step."
BURNABY CITIZENS ASSOCIATION INCUMBENT RON BURTON:
Ron Burton's kids are grown and out of school, but had they come to him as youngsters and reported the "it's OK to be gay" scenario, Burton would not have a problem.
"It is OK to be gay," he said. "Some people are born that way. It's no different from being born Chinese or black or having a certain religion."
As for opponents who see homosexuality as more of a lifestyle they don't condone, there has to be room for their opinions, too.
"We have to understand their beliefs and accept them as well," Burton said. "We're asking people to show toler-ance ... towards the LGBTQ community. We have to do the same. I may not agree with their position, but I may not agree with some of the things in the LGBTQ (community), but I am aware of both and accept both."
The policy was passed in June and is already in effect. The board is starting an advisory committee to monitor its implementation and make any improvements if need be.
One thing the controversy has done s raise awareness, he pointed out.
"I think students are very aware of he issues and the policy," he said.
Burton also pointed to the recent suicide of Jamie Hubley, a 15-year-old Ottawa student who killed himself after constant bullying and harassment because he was openly gay.
"Our goal is to ensure that things like that don't happen anymore," Burton says.
INDEPENDENT CANDIDATE JADE TOMELDEN:
Independent candidate Jade Tomelden was the first to back Burnaby Parents' Voice in their call for other candidates to denounce all forms, of hate, in particular the racist online attacks against Asian Parents' Voice supporters.
Tomelden has three school-aged boys - two are being
home-schooled because of bullying problems at a Vancouver school and her eldest was moved to a Burnaby school after he allegedly witnessed his teacher tape another student's mouth shut. (The B.C. College of Teachers is now looking into the matter.)
When asked how she would handle her kids reporting back on a classroom conversation around the theme that it's OK to be gay, Tomelden said she would be fine with it.
"If their perspective is it's OK to be who you are, then I'm cool with that, 100 per cent," she said. "Our (family's) hugest value is respect, and don't do anything that would hurt another person."
Tomelden acknowledged that some Burnaby Parents' Voice members have a problem with the policy because they have objections to homosexuality.
"It's because of their religious values. I'm not going to judge somebody that believes one thing and not something else," Tomelden said. "I don't shield my children from a lot of things, but I respect some parents don't want to."
In an earlier interview with the NOW, Tomelden said she saw no need in singling out gay kids for pro-tection from bullying.
"From what I understand, there is already one (policy) in place against bullying in general," she said. "I think we should emphasize bullying in total, not narrow it down to a group."
Tomelden also said she has no moral or religious objections to homosexuality, but she wants parents to know what their kids are learning in the classroom.
"I believe parents have a right to know what their kids are being taught," she said. "I'm not anti-gay... but as a parent, I wouldn't want someone going against something that I'm teaching my child."
Green candidates Helen Chang and Scott Janzen did not return NOW calls by press time Tuesday afternoon.
