Catholic board denies gay student’s homophobia claims
Teen believes situation has devolved into a case of ‘he said, she said’
A French-language Catholic school board denies a gay student’s allegation there is systemic homophobia at a Mississauga high school.
The board responded Wednesday to a complaint filed to the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal in February by Christopher Karas, a Grade12 student at École secondaire catholique Sainte-Famille, who claims he has been repeatedly denigrated by teachers and administration for being gay.
“The complaint is unfounded,” said a spokeswoman for the Conseil scolaire de district catholique centresud which covers Ontario’s southcentral region.
“There was no discrimination based on sexual orientation, nor were there discriminatory practices,” Mikale-Andrée Joly said in a news release. “There was no violation of the Human Rights Code.”
Joly stated the board met its Education Act obligations to promote a positive school environment and prevent any intimidation or discrimination.
The school board would not release a copy of its submission to the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal, nor would the tribunal itself. Both citied privacy concerns.
Responding to the school board’s statements on Thursday, Karas said the situation has devolved into “he said, she said.”
“They just said these teachers had not done what I said they did, those incidents never happened,” he said. “I was hoping they would try to find a way to meet everyone’s interests, but that’s not what’s happening here.”
Karas said his problems began in Grade 10 during a school field trip to Ottawa. Several boys said they didn’t want to bunk with him because of his sexuality, so the teacher relocated him. He brought up the incident with the teacher and was told “nothing further could be done.”
In Grade 11, Karas said, a religion teacher taught that “gay people should not be permitted to adopt.” And in a psychology class about family structures another teacher said “homosexual couples are not recognized” as families under Catholic doctrine.
In his final year, Karas was forced to read Doric Germain’s Poison, a novel about a family divided by alcoholism. In one passage a father comes home to find his son “pants down with another boy.” The father tells the son: “I will not tolerate a f----t in my house.” And then he beats his son.
Karas not only objected to the language of the novel, but also that the teacher made no attempt to explain how the beating was morally wrong.
In his submission to the rights tribunal, Karas said he suggested the school add books with more gay-positive representations.
According to the board’s news release, no high school staff “used discriminatory or homophobic language in the classroom” and they did everything possible to offer support and intervene in cases of discriminatory language or conduct used by other students.
It also said Poison complies with the Ontario curriculum and contains no hate literature. “Neither the book nor the evaluations of it are in any way intended to encourage acceptance of a homophobic message.”
Karas was also embroiled in a dispute with the school late last year after he was prevented from putting up posters that featured a quote by Harvey Milk, an openly gay San Francisco city politician. He put up 10 posters across the school anyway. Within a day, they were taken down. The board said the posters were removed for lack of support from members of Open Doors, a student group which discusses issues of sexuality and identity, and due to a breach of procedures. Karas has read a copy of the board’s defence and says it leaves out many crucial details, such as a letter signed by every student leader of Open Doors supporting the Harvey Milk posters. In a statement Thursday, the school administration took responsibility for removing the posters, saying Karas overstepped an approval process. As for Karas’s letter of support, a school board spokesperson said, “there are certain questions as to the content of this letter, its intent and how the signatures were solicited.” In his human rights complaint, Karas is seeking $25,000 compensation, a letter of apology and public interest remedies including the removal of Poison from the curriculum, gender-neutral washrooms and sensitivity training for all teachers and students. He has hired a lawyer and plans to stay on top of the case after he graduates in June. “For me it’s important for future students to have a safe space at school.”