The effort by Alberta's Tory government to walk the tightrope between supporters of Gay Straight Alliances (GSAs) and those who are leery of them has now literally made the government -- and by extension, the province -- a laughingstock.
Comedian Rick Mercer has weighed into the debate, quoting Premier Jim Prentice, who told reporters that “rights are never absolute.”
“Nice ring to it Jim, maybe that should be on the licence plate,” Mercer tweeted, sending a photo of an Alberta licence plate with that saying at the bottom, where “Wild Rose Country” is normally displayed.
We shouldn't run our province purely according to what comedians think about it, but on the other hand, it's pretty scary to contemplate living in a jurisdiction where “rights are never absolute.”
According to the Canadian Oxford Dictionary, human rights are defined as “basic rights held to belong to every living person; e.g. the right to freedom, justice, etc.” The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms includes the right to freedom of expression and association.
Reports say the Alberta government was trying to not only accommodate the concerns of LGBTQ (lesbian gay, bisexual, trans-gender, queer) students but also Catholic school boards who were cool to the idea of GSAs in their schools. The provincial government drafted legislation that pleased neither community.
As a result, late this past week, the Alberta government put the legislation on hold, to obtain more input and figure out how to get out of this dilemma.
In the meantime, the whole process is the butt of at least one comedian's joke, reinforcing the hayseed image central Canadians have of Alberta.
But more seriously, one wonders if the legislation, as written, goes against the spirit of the charter's right to freedom of association and/or security of the person -- if under that legislation, students are unable have GSAs in their schools and be free from the bullying that LGBTQ people regularly suffer from.
