In the past month, AHEA has strongly objected to the Alberta Human Rights Act being included in a new Education Act because it would deny all parents freedom of conscience in teaching their children. In case any of our members doubts that, please read on....
On the campaign trail on April 4,2012, PC Premier Alison Redford, confirmed that the Alberta Human Rights Legislation will be used to deny individuals the right to make service decisions based on their conscience.
When asked about her view of conscience rights of individuals, such as Doctors who are opposed to performing abortions or Justices of the Peace who are opposed to performing same sex marriages, Redford stated: “... all of the unique families of this province, have the opportunity to know that when they are accessing services, they can trust that those services will be provided.” http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Canada/20120404/Redford-frightened-by-Wildrose-view-of-conscience-rights-120404/
If you vote for a PC Government:
There will no longer be the opportunity for people to deny providing services they are morally or religiously opposed to under a PC Redford government... they WILL have to perform them.
If you vote for a NDP Government:
According to their webpage, http://albertandp.ca/wherewestand/details/respecting_everyones_rights , a NDP government would “expand the Human Right’s Commission’s authority and jurisdiction.”
If you vote for a Wildrose Government:
The Wildrose Party has Alberta Human Rights Act reform as part of their policy. The Wildrose Party states it will make changes to the Alberta Human Rights Act which take the evaluation of complaints out of the hands of appointed individuals, and put them into the realm of the courts where the legal process and protective services are considered. http://www.wildrose.ca/policy/justice-policing-human-rights/
If you vote for a Liberal Government:
http://www.albertaliberal.com/news.php?n=106 Statement by Raj Sherman on Conscience Rights. “The Alberta Liberals are firmly opposed to the Wildrose Party’s suggestion that there is a place for such a repugnant and antiquated notion in contemporary Alberta as conscience rights – simply a clever phrasing of support and consent to systemic discrimation against gays and lesbians or other minorities.”
(For more information on problems with the Alberta Human Rights Act, see Justice Center for Constitutional Freedoms (www.jccf.ca). According to the March 2011study conducted by John Carpay and Carol Crosson, From Bad to Worse - Examining Restrictions on Speech and Procedural Fairness in Human Rights Legislation in Fourteen Canadian Jurisdictions (http://www.jccf.ca/images/From%20Bad%20to%20Worse%20-%20Executive%20Summary.pdf ), Canadian human rights legislation has, at best, a ‘bad’ rating for procedural fairness. Alberta’s human rights legislation is described as among the worst in Canada as a result of its lack of procedural fairness and its violation of free speech rights.)