Wynne blasts PCs for giving degree authority to evangelical college
Legislative change would grant university status to controversial school
The first openly gay premier in the history of Canada has the Progressive Conservative government squirming over a controversial evangelical college being granted new authority to award degrees.
Kathleen Wynne, Ontario premier from 2013 to 2018, blasted the Tories on Thursday after it emerged a looming legislative change would give university status to Charles McVety’s Canada Christian College.
“Why (would) this government … extend the mandate of the most publicly and vocally homophobic man in Ontario?” thundered Wynne, as Tory MPPs shifted uncomfortably in their seats during the legislature’s daily question period.
“Is this actually happening because of McVety’s support during the 2018 election campaign? If so, how will the Conservative members explain their actions to the young people living in fear of homophobia in their constituencies?” said the Don Valley West Liberal MPP.
McVety, an outspoken social conservative, is a personal friend and high-profile supporter of Doug Ford, but the premier insisted he had nothing to do with the legislative change.
“I have a lot of friends within churches and in college,” Ford told reporters Wednesday.
“This was a college under the
Liberals as well — and (McVety) went through the process like every other college and the process is independent, so good luck to him,” he said.
The Tories maintain “all private post-secondary institutions in Ontario require a thorough and rigorous organizational review in order to change names and expand degreegranting authority.”
McVety told the Star that “the college, its president, staff and faculty value all individuals, including the LGBTQ community.”
“This Ontario legislation is based upon fairness, not favouritism. It is an initiative that does nothing more than correct a systemic problem plaguing some long-standing degreegranting institutions that are called colleges, and not universities,” he said.
CBC News reported Thursday that his college has not yet completed the process of applying for the redesignation to the independent Post-secondary Education Quality Assessment Board.
The college has submitted a detailed 315-page application to the arm’s-length panel.
It is “seeking to change its name from ‘Canada Christian College and School of Graduate Theological Studies’ to ‘Canada University and School of Graduate Theological Studies,’ ” the college states.
The application does not specifically mention any antipathy toward LGBTQ communities, but it does note that students and faculty must “refrain from practices that are biblically condemned.”
According to the college’s submission, those practices include “abortion,” “drunkenness,” and “sexual sins including premarital sex, adultery, all types of fornication and related behaviour, and viewing of pornography.”
NDP MPP Laura Mae Lindo, who first publicized the change buried in omnibus legislation, said “Ford is using the cover of the pandemic to hand out political favours to his far-right friend Charles McVety, who we know is racist, homophobic, transphobic and Islamophobic.”
“Doug Ford must not be allowed to sneak through this special favour to his bigoted friend who wants to spread more hate and division, and discriminate against Ontarians,” said Lindo (Kitchener Centre).
Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca said it was “shocking that Doug Ford is using emergency COVID-19 legislation to sneak through a secret reward for Charles McVety, a Conservative supporter with a long record of hate, homophobia and Islamophobia.”
“It goes against everything the government of Ontario must stand for,” said Del Duca.