About:-human rights tribunal
A complaint to the human rights tribunal of Ontario has been lodged over the distribution of Bibles to Grade 5 students by Gideons in the Niagara Region. Rene and Anna Chouinard contend that the public board should not have allowed the Gideons to hand out New Testaments over the past 12 years.
The Chouinards are self proclaimed Humanists who practice "a religion-free way of life guided by reason." Rene Chouinard said the school board should focus on education, not religion. "It's an education system, not a church," said Chouinard, whose lawyers first made a request to the board in December to rescind their policy. They have hired a St. Catherines law firm to handle their case.
In the meantime, last week the District School Board of Niagara changed its policy regarding the distribution of religious materials. All religious organizations are now allowed to distribute religious material outside classroom hours, at the discretion of the education director, principals and parent groups. In spite of the change in policy, the Chouinards are continuing their case. They want the distribution of all religious materials stopped completely.
While his main goal is to keep religious materials out of school, Chouinard has decided to test the new rule. He has made a request to the school board to distribute the humanist book, "Just Pretend: A Freethought Book for Children" to the Grade 5 students of Nelles School in Grimsby, where the Chouinard children attend.
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