Centre for Inquiry Alberta Denounces Passing of Bill 44
June 1, 2009
Media Release | For release on the passing of Bill 44: June 1 / June 2, 2009
Edmonton – Centre for Inquiry (CFI) Alberta remains disappointed with Bill 44, even after the amendments added last week.
“Bill 44 set out to solve a problem that did not exist,” says Mike Gray, Communications Chair for the Centre For Inquiry Alberta. “Parents already had opt-out provisions under the School Act, and I am not aware of any cases where the School Act has not been sufficient.”
“Inviting the Human Rights Commission to police our education system makes teachers afraid to teach,” Says Gray. “Students cannot learn from teachers who are too afraid to teach.”
Minister Blackett recognizes that if parents are not reasonable and take Bill 44 literally, there would be anarchy. Blackett forgets that it only takes one parent acting irresponsibly to bring a teacher before the human rights commission. “Just imagine the list of issues one parent with extreme views could object to on religious grounds,” says Gray.
Scott Rowed, Science & Education Chair for Centre for Inquiry Alberta made this comment in a research paper on the history of the parental rights movement: “To understand the parental rights initiatives we need to look south of the border. In the early 1990's religious right groups saw ‘parental rights’ legislation as a means to advance their causes by applying censorship in schools, limiting the ability of the government to prosecute child abuse, diverting money from public to religious schools, and weakening the curriculum for all children.”
“Students and teachers are the real victims here,” says Gray. “The government has been so worried about asserting parental rights, they have forgotten about a student’s right to the best education available.
The following spokespeople are available for further comment:
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Cliff Erasmus
Executive Chair 403-836-4317 atheos_erasmus [at] netkaster.ca |
Mike Gray
Communications 403-827-2701 writemike [at] platinum.ca |
Centre for Inquiry (CFI) Alberta is part of a global federation committed to science, reason, free inquiry. CFI’s purpose is to promote and defend reason, science, and freedom of inquiry in all areas of human endeavor. CFI is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that encourages evidence-based inquiry into science, pseudoscience, medicine and health, religion, ethics, secularism, and society. CFI is not affiliated with, nor does it promote, any political party or political ideology.