Teachers In This City Can Get Fired For Being In A Same-Sex Relationship And Canadians Are In Disbelief
Their contract forces them to uphold "Catholic values" and an acceptable lifestyle.
The Catholic school board in Calgary just confirmed that teachers there are required to sign a piece of paper that makes being in in a same-sex or even common-law relationship a breach of contract.
In some cases, breaches of a contract could result in teachers being fired so with this clause teachers in the Calgary school board could be fired for being in a same-sex relationship.
The exact words in the contract say that teachers have to live "a lifestyle and deportment in harmony with Catholic teaching and principles" which includes the belief that same-sex relationships are wrong.
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A human resources superintendent at the school board confirmed this saying “relationships that would be acceptable are those recognized by the Catholic Church, that have to be acknowledged by a Catholic priest. That would not include a same-sex relationship or a common-law relationship.”
Since this means being in an LGBTQ or even common-law relationship is a breach of contract, officially this means that teachers could be fired if they are in one of these "unacceptable". But the superintendent says each teacher is handled on a case-by-case basis.
So far, the board says not teachers have been fired for this reason and say instead that they encouraged them to talk with a Catholic priest and "reconcile" their situation.
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None the less, the fact that it exists is outraging Canadians, especially those whose taxpayer dollars fund the Calgary Catholic School District. In response to this news, many say that discrimination like this is the reason Catholic schools in Canada should lose public funding.
Canadians responding to the story on Twitter are outraged. Many people express that same sentiment that their public funding should be cut while others go on to call the contract clause a violation of human rights.
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So an organization that covered up and condoned abuse of children gets to decide what relationships are "right"? @RachelNotleyhttps://t.co/DqzRn44fa1
— Shelley Duggan (@drslmd) December 13, 2018
Well, now would seem to be the ideal time to end the separate board system, merge into a single public system, demonstrate a commitment to human rights and probably save a bundle of money along the way.
— Reg Curren (@newsmanbluesman) December 13, 2018
I’m catholic, and I gotta say I disagree with a lot of things that the church “enforces”. I think this is quite idiotic and completely backwards.
— Carlos (@carlos_etd) December 13, 2018
One professor, Kristopher Wells, speaking on the issue told the Calgary Herald that "It’s hard to believe that in 2018, when same-sex marriage is legal in this country, that anyone could lose their job because of that."
Source: Calgary Herald