Canadian Parents Protest Controversial Children's Education Motion

A law proposed by Alberta, Canada’s New Democratic Party (NDP) that would give the authority for children’s education to the government rather than parents has been discarded after parents took action to stop the motion.

LifeSiteNews.com reports that the bill, Motion 504, was originally introduced by Progressive Conservate Party (PCP) leader Ric McIver. It began as a pro-parental rights motion, but NDP Member of the Legislative Assembly Robyn Luff directly afterward proposed an amendment to the motion which gave the government the ultimate authority in a child’s education.

The tension in the Legislative Assembly quickly escalated as McIver, realizing that the motion was about to be passed in its amended form, challenged it, refusing to sit down until the ruling was reversed.

Speaker Bob Wanner eventually had McIver escorted from the room.

McIver’s original motion urged the government to “affirm its commitment to allowing parents the choice of educational delivery for their children, including home, charter, private, francophone, separate, or public education programs."

However, Luff’s amendment urged the government to “support public education…while affirming its commitment to allowing parents the choice of education delivery for their children…where they offer alternatives not available in the public system.” 

The amended motion would have subjected a parent's education choice for their child to the education choices offered by the government.

Even though McIver stood up for the original motion, allowing parents ultimate authority in the education of their children, it was the parents themselves who caused the government to discard the amended motion.

Many parents took action and called their government representatives and the Ministry of Education, asking them not to take away their rights.

“What we have been trying to do is to provide parents the tools to, first of all, be informed so that they know what is going on, so that they are politically aware, and, we've been trying to give them the tools so that they can be politically effective and active. We have been training them to see the need and to respond effectively,” stated Paul van den Bosch, president of the Alberta Home Education Association.

“We didn't put a post on our website saying, ‘Hey parents, you should call your MLA,’” he continued.  “Parents simply saw the need, and they reacted. They called and they emailed the Premier, the Education Minister, and their own MLA’s.”

Publication date: April 25, 2016