Canadian Education minister orders Christian schools to allow students to organize gay-straight alliances

Canada's education minister David Eggen has issued an order to two private Christian schools in Edmonton, asking them to allow students to form gay-straight alliance (GSA) groups upon request.

The ministerial order, issued on Thursday, was directed to Meadows Baptist Academy in Edmonton and Harvest Baptist Academy in Parkland County north of Spruce Grove.

"We are committed to welcoming, caring, respectful and safe schools for all students," Eggen told CBC, "We will never waver on that. Students in Alberta have the right to establish a gay-straight alliance or queer-straight alliance and to name it as such — it's the law," he added.

The order was based on a November 2016 report by Edmonton lawyer Dan Scott, who recommended that the schools be required to update their policies to allow GSAs or appoint a trustee to oversee the task in case the school's governing body refused.

The report, which was released publicly on Thursday, also recommended for Eggen to revoke the school's accreditation at the end of the 2017 school year if they do not allow students to organize GSAs. However, Scott said that the minister must "balance the requirements of the legislation with the rights and needs of the students."

Scott's report noted that canceling the accreditation of the schools could cause disruption to the students as well as the loss of employment for up to 13 teachers and other staff.

Eggen said that the ministerial order should send a message to all schools that the government will "pursue the letter of the law" when it comes to the treatment of LGBT students.

"The order demands that they follow Alberta law," the minister said. "Students deserve to feel supported in their schools and our government will do everything in our power to ensure that," he added.

In March 2015, the legislature approved an initiative that required Alberta schools to allow GSAs and to create an inclusive environment for students and staff. The law also mandates the schools to adopt a code of conduct prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation. However, it does not apply to private schools.

Scott said that different standard for public and private schools "poses an obvious problem." In his report, he suggested that Eggen should amend the School Act to change that inequity.

Pastor Brian Coldwell, the chairman of the Independent Baptist Christian Education Society, which oversees the schools, refused to comment on the ministerial order and referred inquiries to his legal counsel. He had previously stated that the two schools will not comply with the law, calling it an attack on their faith.