Alberta Tag

14 Mar 2017 More pushback on Bill 10

Donna Trimble There’s more reaction this week to the latest developments on Bill 10 in Alberta. That's the law that mandates the creation of so-called gay-straight alliance clubs in all schools in the province if children ask for them. A few weeks ago, Education Minister David Eggen conceded that the issue was “legally complicated.” The comment came in connection with a report he received on what to do about two small Baptist schools near Edmonton, who have announced they will be openly defying that new law. Donna Trimble with Parents for Choice in...

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07 Mar 2017 Retreat in Alberta?

Alberta Education Minister, David Eggen There was a new development in the Alberta Education sector last week. Education Minister David Eggen appears to be backing away from plans to insist that all schools - including independent and Christian schools - will have to live by Bill 10 and the province’s policies on transgenderism in the classroom. He told the National Post  that an inquiry into two Edmonton area schools which are refusing to follow the policy has unearthed unexpected legal implications and the situation is “more complicated” than they had originally foreseen. ARPA Education...

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07 Mar 2017 Grassroots Motivation

ARPA Canada Grassroots Manager, Colin Postma ARPA’s Manager of Grassroots Engagement was on the road last week. Colin Postma made a number of stops in BC and Alberta, trying to find new ways to get folks engaged. He says they tried a different approach this time, breaking the participants down into small discussion groups for brainstorming sessions. “After that, the group(s) would put their ideas together and cycle them around the room.” He says the goal was to “get people inside the ARPA mentality, coming up with new ideas for how...

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30 Sep 2016 Alberta’s sex-ed curriculum and “the human face of ‘no’”

Written by: David MacKenzie When Pastor Brian Coldwell, of the New Testament Baptist Church of Spruce Grove, Alberta, says “No”, he means it.  And I admire him for it. “Yes-men” don’t get it. Indeed, political sycophants find such resolve offensive. But the difference between them and Brian Coldwell, is that the latter actually appreciates concrete principle— especially Biblical principle— more than the shifting sands of political pragmatism. Brian knows there’s little to be gained, outside of eternity, for standing on Biblical principles. He’s aware that, at any point, things could go very badly for both him and the Christian schools with which his congregation is associated.
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23 Mar 2016 Alberta: Take Action on Gender Guidelines

Alberta’s provincial government is forcing upon our schools a totalitarian, one-size-fits-all regime of “gender guidelines,” and they’re doing so without even a vote in the Legislature. You can read ARPA’s full analysis of these guidelines, and how they undermine faith, family, and reason here. Among many other things, these “guidelines” mean that a male student can “self-identify” as female and enter our girls’ change rooms. They also mean any gender specific talk of “mom” or “dad” or “girls” or “boys” must be discouraged and changed to “neutral” terms like “parents.” Yes, that includes in private Christian schools as well. The guidelines would impose upon our schools the most extreme form of so-called "gender ideology." The Alberta government is undermining the role of parents as educators and the independence of school boards, including faith-based schools.
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19 Feb 2016 Phone Script Bill 10 Response

Dear {MP}, I'm calling in response to the Education guidelines that have been required of all schools by the Ministry of Education. Rather than listening to the medical testimony and the positions of many international psychological and health organizations this government is pushing ahead with what it considers to be the right path. Most concernincly, the encouragement of conditioning of children with hormones, surgeries and other dangerous medical practices enforces this process as valid and even as ideal. Yet this government is sponsoring this move and forcing the schools to...

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05 Feb 2016 Albertans Must Respectfully but Firmly Oppose Ministry of Education Guidelines

(For those outside Alberta, please don’t ignore this action update. Manitoba is working on similar guidelines, and other provinces are likely to follow.) In less than one year, Alberta has transitioned from a province with an outstanding reputation for upholding parental authority in education to becoming one of the most oppressive jurisdictions in North America. Christian schools are now being told to adopt policies and procedures by March 31st which directly violate their faith and promote radical ideologies. If the province does not change its approach, Christian parents and schools will have to either compromise their faith or make a principled stand against the province.   Basic Talking Points The following four points encapsulate our basic concerns about the Alberta education minister’s desire to make all schools celebrate his radical gender politics and his unchristian views of sexuality. ludicrous overreach: the new policies and guidelines from the education minister are so beyond the pale that even public schools are pushing back. See below for many examples of the extreme nature of these guidelines. parental rights undermined: the new policies and guidelines drive a wedge between parents and children and actively seek to undermine this very important relationship. palpable harm to children: the evidence from medical experts is clear – encouraging or reinforcing gender dysphoria, particularly with pre-pubescent children, is harmful to the child and virtually guarantees a life of emotional and psychological suffering. The exact students the State pretends to help are the ones most harmed by these policies. These policies also gamble with child abuse by downplaying any risks associated with mixing boys and girls in the same change rooms, washrooms and sports teams. religious and associational liberty attacked: the new policies and guidelines violate the Charter’s guarantee of freedom of religion (including the right of religious institutions to remain true to their faith commitments without having to teach or celebrate as true and good something fundamentally at odds with their religious convictions). The policies and guidelines also violate the Charter’s guarantee of freedom of association (including the right of parents to come together for a legitimate common cause and to carry out that cause according to their shared principles without State interference). We urge our readers and supporters in Alberta to communicate these points to their elected representatives boldly, but also respectfully. Also, though many of you are parents who send your children to an independent school, speak as a concerned citizen and as parent but not on behalf of your school (leave that to your local school board). In order to get the full story of what is going on, what is at stake, and what you can do, please read on.
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09 Dec 2015 Alberta Bill 7 – Redefining Sex/Gender in Alberta Law

Alberta’s Bill 7 was introduced on November 19th by Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley. The bill seeks to amend the Alberta Human Rights Act by striking out the word ‘gender’ – which previously only distinguished between males and females – and replace it with the words ‘gender’, ‘gender identity’, and ‘gender expression’. Though a seemingly simple alteration, it has a large impact. It has already passed first reading in the Alberta Legislature, with very little public awareness or discussion. We need your help to alert our MLAs and the broader public to the danger of redefining sex in Albertan law.   What’s the issue?  Some individuals believe they were born into a biological sex that they do not feel fits their psychological sexual identity. This is known commonly as transsexualism, transgenderism, Gender Identity Disorder (GID), or gender dysphoria. Provincial governments have begun enshrining in law an idea that this psychological sexual identity – for which the term ‘gender’ is used – is not fixed but fluid. Tied into that is the idea that there are more than two genders, and that what ultimately matters is how one person feels about their own gender, rather than giving any consideration to what their biological sex is. Those pushing this political agenda are attempting to enshrine in law the right to identify as, act, and dress as any sex they feel best relates to their psychological sexual self-identity – and to be treated by the civil government and the rest of society accordingly.  
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22 Jun 2015 Another resource for Albertans on promoting better education policy

As many of our Albertan readers know, Bill 10, hastily passed before the election with major amendments, radically reworked the Education Act, Schools Act and the Alberta Human Rights Act. Bill 10 is problematic for many reasons, principally because it undermines parental rights, threatens religious and associational freedom, and promotes nonsensical public policy. For more about the problems of Bill 10, see our earlier analysis here. Also, we encourage you to read and share this call-to-action letter mailed to all of our ARPA supporters in Alberta. We're happy to share with...

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