The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutJason Kenney says he didn’t suggest children who join a gay-straight club should be ‘outed’ to their parents - National Post - 03/30/2017 - National Post - 03/30/20173/31/2017 Jason Kenney says he didn't suggest children who join a gay -straight club should be `outed' to their parents I National Post IIIIN,ANGIWI..IIPOSI m NEWS - (O MEINT , IPIERSOMI..IIIIINAINOF - IIINVIESIHGN - TE;IIN SPORTS - AIRB - II..NEII:: - HEM. H .IRONIES - IDII11IAN( - (II.ASSIIEIIIf::IC➢.S - JOBS - SILIII.SCIIt1IBE J t_,YJA POLITICS J] in Lin in ink e I MMI N�'"1D1 I"G Faedreirall Ibudget I Frauinri pu I "II"airy Ilaeadeirs1hlilpu trace 111...a fto Ilex I IfReall estate I C'cyunae Jason Kenney says he didn't suggest children who join a gay - straight club should be `outed' to their parents JANIF II' t R r .31 AND u��d��:r�u��u 111-roi�<,uoma, POWAIT AHA Nims i Mairch 10, 2017 9 07 AM f:: T More fr rri FToshynedia Nevvs ,. Alul.ur,f 1°},�Pm� , tI Alberta Education Minister David Eggen said Wednesday that he was "disturbed" by new Progressive Conservative Leader Jason Kenney's comments on gay -straight alliances in schools. Reacting to Kenney's comments Tuesday that parents should be informed when their child joins a gay -straight alliance in school unless the parents are abusive, Eggen posted on Facebook that Kenney has shown himself as an "extremist." "We work very closely with parents, but let's not forget gay -straight alliances are support groups for students who are in a very vulnerable position," said Eggen. "If the government is compelling people to out those students in a very compromised situation, then they're only serving to make the situation worse." http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadiarrpolitics/jason kenney-says-he-didnt-suggest-chiIdrerrwho-jofn-a-gay-straight-club-should-be-outed-to-thei... 1/7 3/31/2017 Jason Kenney says he didn't suggest children who join a gay -straight club should be `outed' to their parents I National Post Related 'He speaks Arune6eanu Ens.lisln': kJason IKenney ways unrifling.lual Kevin (D lLeary shouldn't lead federal "li°o6es Don l Rai&wu PJatson Kerrnune .. Kenneywins Alberta lit." leadership wut n Cnirorrnnse to unite the Hanght.......- now comes the nan°r part Kenney posted a statement on his Facebook page Wednesday morning clarifying his position. ADVER f16EMENT ty� r" ' ) ibw : co ia k Ilr vestn°int l��ed hilts, �� , Lets create a plan. On your sche�dule. He said claims that he wants schools to "out" LGBTQ students to their parents are untrue. "In some cases informing parents would clearly be inappropriate. Longstanding laws and protocols exist to protect children from potentially abusive parents. I trust teachers, principals and school counsellors to exercise their judgment about such matters, and that there should be a presumption that most parents are loving and caring, seeking only what is best for their children. http://news.nationalpost.comlnews/canada/canadiarrpolitics/jason kenney-says-he-didnt-suggest-chiIdrer}who-joir-a-gay-straight-club-should-be-outed-to-thei... 2/7 3/31/2017 Jason Kenney says he didn't suggest children who join a gay -straight club should be `outed' to their parents I National Post "The law should neither force schools to release information to parents, nor should it create an adversarial relationship between parents and their children," he wrote. Eggen said the law currently has no provision that stops school officials from notifying parents, but he's "been looking at that very closely." In the meantime, Eggen said most schools have gone beyond the letter of the law and embraced the spirit of it. The NDP caucus released a statement saying Kenney was effectively calling for a repeal of the law, while the Alberta Party denounced the comments in the morning. The Alberta Liberals said "outing students runs contrary to the intent of the law and is deeply concerning." The Wildrose Party, which is in negotiations with Kenney's PCs to unite under a new name, said local school boards should exercise their best judgment on whether or not parents should be notified. Kenney's statements show "a balance all our political representatives should aspire to," said Donna Trimble, executive director of Parents for Choice in Education. The group believes parents should be involved in gay -straight alliances and wants to see legislation amended. "Evidence shows that sexual and gender minority students have improved outcomes when they have good parent and family support," Trimble said in an email Wednesday. http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadiarrpolitics/jason kenney-says-he-didnt-suggest-chiIdrerrwho-jofn-a-gay-straight-club-should-be-outed-to-thei... 3/7 3/31/2017 Jason Kenney says he didn't suggest children who join a gay -straight club should be `outed' to their parents I National Post Ih iI'v r?dkI Po'lni Hain NDP MLA Sandra Jansen, who originally sponsored the GSA bill under the Jim Prentice government before crossing the floor to the NDP from the PCs, said a majority of Albertans want to see LGBTQ kids protected. "The protection is there not for the kids who come from good and understanding families, but for the kids who come from families that don't understand," said Jansen. Some teachers say the Alberta Teachers' Association's code of conduct prevents them from divulging information without a student's permission. "The unilateral outing of a student would certainly leave me to question whether they had abided by (the code)," said Dennis Theobald, the association's associate executive secretary. Laurie Blakeman, who sponsored the original private member's bill that led to the law, said Kenney has been in Ottawa too long and is behind the times on where Albertans stand on the issue. "I think these guys don't get it. And I think he's playing to what he thinks is a very large group of people, when it's actually playing to a very, very narrow group of people," she said. ifrench@postniedia.com sxthomson@postmedia.com LATEST CANADA VIDEOS Blatchford: Sully the Christie Blatchford on Raptors Pres and GM cadaver -sniffing dog Garland Trial Day 5 U,jiri, and Prime Minister Trudeau meet students affected by school shooting l eit..t lloe,,l?t, ..... .......II.. ... ... I lo I," rt p ,n„ .l. - Y" ") , c &,in Toddler's death was avoidable, fire chief says hftp://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadiarrpolitics/jason kenney-says-he-didnt-suggest-chiIdrerrwho-jofn-a-gay-straight-club-should-be-outed-to-thei... 4/7 /!-- This code was added to remove the metadata from document view in Weblink -->