Motion banning non-Catholic charities debated Tuesday

OAKVILLE — A battle brewing for months will take centre stage at a school board meeting Tuesday night over Halton’s controversial policy banning financial support to charities that don’t align with Catholic values.

The Halton Catholic District School board of trustees meeting, usually held at its office in Burlington, has been moved to Oakville’s Holy Trinity Catholic Secondary School to accommodate a larger crowd.

The board of trustees reapproved a motion last month that bans any financial donations to organizations that “publicly support, either directly or indirectly,” abortion, contraception, sterilization, euthanasia or embryonic stem-cell research.

The motion was introduced in January and moved by Oakville trustee Helena Karabela.

The board compiled a list of charities that received donations from board schools in the past, and “are now in the process of determining which charitable organizations may continue to receive donations from our schools in light of this new board decision.”

The list of 100 charities and nonprofits includes the Halton Women’s Place, Sick Kids and the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation.

A representative from Campaign Life Coalition’s youth division will be present at Tuesday’s meeting. Jack Fonseca, a spokesperson for the organization, said people who dissent the motion should leave for the public school system, particularly if they disagree with Catholic teachings.

“It’s a very strong, pro-life motion, and the Catholic Church is pro-life, which means by extension, Catholic schools must be pro-life,” he said. “That’s not a negotiable point.”

The motion has stirred controversy, with community members and parents writing to the board to express their dismay with the motion. An online petition to overturn the motion has garnered about 21,000 signatures.

Other Catholic school boards in the GTA have not followed the Halton school board’s lead.

The meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday.