By Charles Lefebvre

Parent group’s petition appeal dismissed by Court of Queen’s Bench (with video)

Apr 13, 2017 | 11:27 AM

MEDICINE HAT, AB — An appeal filed by a local group to get a petition  recognized by SD76 has been dismissed by the Court of Queen’s Bench.

The written decision was presented Thursday morning. While announcing the written decision, Justice W.A. Tillemann said it was made after examining the process of filing the petition, not the content of the petition itself.

The appeal was dismissed by the court due to a lack of valid signatures on the petition

Jeremy Williamson, the applicant on the appeal, said the ruling wasn’t unexpected.

“During the March 10 proceedings, we felt that he was going to rule against us in the technical details, but he gave us all of the criteria and explanation we needed to amend the petition with the signatures that were deficient,” he said outside the courthouse.

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Williamson added the Concerned Parents of SD76, the group who organized the petition, are in the process of collecting signatures to amend and re-file the petition.

Rick Massini, SD76 board chair, was also in attendance for the decision. He said he expected the decision would be made in regards to the process of filing the petition, but adds he doesn’t expect the conflict to be finished.

The group filed their appeal with the court after having their petition dismissed by SD76 due to invalid signatures. The petition was circulated last year after the province required all school boards to develop LGBTQ policies.

According to the official decision, the petition received 2,030 signatures, but 369 were deemed not valid by SD76. The decision stated 259 signatories did not have a proper postal address, and 110 signatories did not reside in SD76’s boundaries or were supporters of another school board.

According to the School Act, petitions for a public meeting need to be signed by either 25 per cent of parents, who are also electors, of the students in a school, or by 2,000 electors in the division, in order to be considered valid. According to the decision, SD76 did not evaluate the petition on the first criteria because the cover letter of the petition did not indicate the name of a particular school, or if the signatories were from a particular school.

The petition asked the board to call a public meeting and allow the parents to form committees to implement the policies. The parents involved with the petition claimed the policies from the school board and the province take away their parental rights.

“We want to be included, and we want to hear if our children are having some kind of issue at school,” said Williamson. “We don’t want to be left out of that process.”

Massini says the board has been diligent with involving parents in the drafting of the policies, noting the policy has been discussed at the school council level, and a school council representative sits on the SD76 board.

“Parents in effect have direct access to policy development through their representative from the council of school councils,” he said.

The board also had three public meetings and a town hall in regards to the LGBTQ policy, says Massini.

Massini says SD76 is currently in the process of updating its LGBTQ policies, which it does each year. Massini adds the board is responsible for representing all students.

“As a school board, we have to conform with certain things,” he said. “We live by certain principles. We take an oath to govern our jurisdiction according to the law, and we’re bound by that.

“We don’t make the laws, we don’t set legislation, but we are responsible for developing policies that are consistent with legislation.”