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in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, A pr i! 26 ,2 01 8 | EDUCATION Halton Catholic students stage walkouts to protest charities ban Hundreds o f students marched over two days. TIM WHITNELL twhitnell@metroland.com Catholic students around Halton walked out o f classes briefly late last week to protest the school board's stance on banning some charities from school-based fundraising. The scene played out Thursday and Friday at a number o f the nine Catholic secondary schools across the region. The focal point of thousands o f students' displeasure is a contro­ versial board reso­ lution en­ acted in Feb­ ruary that prohibits fi­ nancial do­ nations to charities and non­ profits that support, directly, or indi­ rectly, abortion, contracep­ tion, sterilization, euthana­ sia or human embryonic stem cell research - practic­ es that are deemed to be contrary to Catholic val­ ues. For now, school fund­ raising efforts may only be directed to charities and/ or non-profit organizations that meet the requirements outlined in the February motion. The approved list ini­ tially consisted of 100 groups including the Wom­ en's Place, Toronto Hospi­ tal for Sick Children (Sick- Kids) and the Princess Margaret Cancer Founda­ tion. The list was short­ ened to 30 or­ ganizations after the March 20 board meet­ ing. At Bishop Reding Cath­ olic Second­ ary School in Milton, about 500 mostly se­ nior students congregated outside the school on Thursday morning to protest the charity ban. Another 400-450 marched along the sidewalk in front of the Main Street East school for about an hour late Friday morning. A student at the front of the long line held aloft a sign that said, 'Don't stop the Donation. We're a New Generation' while many students chanted, "Support A ll Causes." • See EDUCATION, page 20 "You can shut it down here but w e 're still going to support (banned) organizations. I am planning on attending it and to stick it to the board." -Bishop Reding S.S. Student Council President Karyssa Chan on plans to help out with a Relay for Life event to be held off the school site Rick Madonik / Toronto Star Ben Sabourin addresses the Halton Catholic District School Board at its March 20 meeting at Holy Trinity Catholic Secondary School. He spoke to trustees again at its April 17 meeting. 'The screaming is not going to stop' NATHAN HOWES SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Halton Catholic District School Board parents and students w ill have to wait a little longer for a decision on the charity donation ban. A t the April 17 board meeting, a motion by trust­ ee Anthony Quinn, in re­ sponse to delegations, nar­ rowly passed, referring the matter to a future meeting to coincide with a senior staff report on the feed­ back and consultation pro­ cess on HCDSB's school fundraising activities poli­ cy (V-04). Stakeholders w ill have until 11:59 p.m. on Friday, June 1 to submit feedback. During this time, reso­ lution 61-18 is still in effect, so school fundraising ef­ forts may only be directed to charities and/or non­ profit organizations that meet the requirements outlined in the February motion. The proposal passed Tuesday did not sit well with those in attendance. People shouted out "op­ posed" as the vote ended, which was followed by del­ egate David Harvey serv­ ing director o f education, Paula Dawson, with a no­ tice of application to the Ontario Superior Court to try to force the board's hand on the issue. The controversial reso­ lution, put in place in Feb­ ruary, prohibits financial donations to charities and non-profits that support, directly or indirectly, abor­ tion, contraception, steril­ ization, euthanasia or hu­ man embryonic stem cell research. The list initially con­ sisted o f 100 groups includ­ ing the Women's Place, To­ ronto Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) and the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation. The list was shortened to 30 or- ganizations after the March 20 board meeting. Last week, Ontario Edu­ cation Minister and Halton M PP Indira Naidoo-Harris sent HCDSB trustees a let­ ter encouraging them to "pause" implementation of the policy and continue with consultation to en­ sure opinions o f the school community are heard and considered. A t the meeting, Harvey, a Burlington resident, asked the board to extend his allotted time to dele­ gate - from the board-stan­ dard of 10 minutes to 20 minutes - to allow for his full presentation. Trustees shot it down with a vote o f 5-4, eliciting a negative reaction from the audience, including a "dis­ gusting" remark from one woman. Harvey delivered an emotional presentation, much o f it about his wife's cancer treatments. "There is a bell in the chemotherapy suite that patients triumphantly ring when they finish their last treatment. Applause breaks out in the waiting room, congratulating the patient on this milestone, and hoping for them, the cancer is gone and w ill never come back. That bell w ill never ring for my wife," said Harvey, through tears. A father of three, two of which are former HCDSB students while the other is in Grade 11 at Corpus Christi High School, Har­ vey said he is outraged and saddened by the actions of the board, to push the mo­ tion forward without con­ sulting parents or stu­ dents. "My wife's cancer treat­ ment has nothing to do with abortion, contracep­ tion, sterilization, eutha­ nasia or embryonic stem cell research. Yet, this • See BOARD, page 31 mailto:twhitnell@metroland.com