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YOU DESERVE CONTACT US FOR YOUR FREE ESTIMATE TODAY! w w w . o a kv ill eb ea ve r.c o m O A KV IL LE B EA V ER Th ur sd ay , D ec em be r 2 3, 2 01 0 4 Ill have to stand behind the policy of the board that was already made, he said. If it comes up again, for me its about talking to the people I represent. What I want to know is what they think about the equity policy, and I would craft an argu- ment based on that, and you have to look at other things like policies of other boards and whats worked and what hasnt worked, whats within the law and what is not within the law. When contacted about the issue, long- time Oakville trustee and current chair of the board, Alice Ann LeMay said she has no concerns about the boards policy being affected by Marais presence on the school board. What he does as a private person and what he does as a school board trustee are pretty well separate issues, she said. Like anybodys work or lifestyle, it has nothing to do with the board policy. He knows what his duty is as an elected trustee. The policy had passed, so he will just uphold what the board decision was. As of this year, all of Ontarios school boards had to have policies that ensure they provide positive school environments for students of all races, religions and sex- ual orientation, which outline how to deal with issues of sexism, racism, homophobia and other forms of discrimination. While the Halton board passed the pol- icy, it included a statement saying, While the Board is committed to equity and inclusion, some Ministry proposed activi- ties such as gay-straight alliances or clubs cannot be permitted. In response to comments in the initial article that said he did not include his gay activism during his campaign, Marai said he was open about it to anyone who asked. He said that part of his life has no bearing on the school board. They talk about this gay activism. This is not an issue, he said. What I talked about was better communication between the board and the ratepayers. I talked about improving technology in our class- rooms and I talked about ensuring we have a responsible school board budget. Marai said he never made any attempt to hide that part of his life. If people asked me about that policy, I made it very clear that I am gay. If you Googled my name, the third thing that came up was about my involvement in this group. Thats because I raised a lot of money for this group as a mentorship opportunity for these students to connect with different corporations and Im proud of that. He said as an elected trustee his respon- sibility is to the people of Oakville and that he was honest with residents. In a further response to the recent story, he said, When it comes to it, theyre not going to distract me from my purpose, which is advocating for the people of Oakville and ensuring we have the best school system in the world, here in Halton. Marai said he has not seen a conflict between his lifestyle and his Catholic faith. The Catholic faith teaches inclusivety and tolerance and people have their own opinions, but quite frankly Ive known the Catholic community here in Oakville to be quite accepting. He added that hes looking forward to working with his fellow trustees in a respectful manor in an effort to better the education system. Board chair not concerned Continued from page 1 What he does as a private person and what he does as a school board trustee are pretty well separate issues. Like anybodys work or lifestyle, it has nothing to do with board policy. He knows what his duty is as an elected trustee. The policy had passed, so he will just uphold what the board decision was. Halton Catholic District School Board Chair and Oakville trustee Alice Ann LeMay If you have a news tip or story idea, call the Oakville Beaver at 905-845-3824. Fill the bus NIKKI WESLEY / OAKVILLE BEAVER SOBEYS FOOD DRIVE: Oakville Rangers Alex Williams, 9, (l-r) Oakville Trafalgar's Lisa Todaro, Peter Joel Hooper, 9, and Cade Courage, 7, carry bags of food onto the bus during Sobey's Maple Grove Fill the Bus food drive for Fareshare foodbank on Saturday afternoon. Between three Sobeys locations in Oakville, the grocery chain collected about 8,000 pounds of food during its Fill the Bus food drive for Fareshare foodbank. On Saturday, the Maple Grove store had about 20 vol- unteers staff (unpaid), family, friends and several Oakville Rangers hockey players helping fill the bus with food. Food was either donated by customers or made through purchase of $10 or $15 bags at the store, during the collection that began in November.