The Alberta Government passed their bill strengthening rules for gay-straight alliances in schools late Wednesday morning.
Bill 24, An Act to Protect Gay Straight Alliances was tabled in the legislature on November 2, the governing NDP used its majority to pass its third and final reading November 15.
The legislation closes loopholes the province said some schools have been using to delay or not allow students to try and set up the peer-support groups.
The bill also clarifies that school officials can’t tell parents if their child is participating in a gay-straight alliance, with the exception of certain circumstances, if a student is under a direct threat of harm, for example.
A Calgary based lawyer group is gearing up to fight the bill on the grounds that it violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, international law, the Alberta Bill of Rights and other provincial legislation.
“All of these laws provide that parents should be fully informed about what's going on at schools,” said John Carpay of the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms.
Opposition leader Jason Kenney has spoken out against the bill, saying teachers need to be allowed to share that information with parents if the decide it is necessary, but advocates and the NDP said that could be similar to outing a student, which could put a child at risk.
With files from The Canadian Press and Nicole Weisberg.
