May was an exciting month for PCE as we continued touring the province doing presentations and celebrated significant successes at the United Conservative Party AGM.
Support for PCE continues to grow – we recently surpassed 10,000 emails signed up to receive our newsletters and action alerts!
Important opportunities, such as K-4 curriculum info sessions and nominations, are now underway.
By becoming informed and engaged, our impact as citizens will be most effective.
Read below for more details!
MAY HIGHLIGHTS
1. PCE has been touring the province!
450+ citizens across the province attended events in May where PCE was invited as a guest speaker, including in St. Paul, Red Deer, Calgary and several locations in southern Alberta.
In June, PCE Executive Director Donna Trimble is excited to head up to northern Alberta, speaking at events in Grande Prairie, La Crete and Peace River.
NOTE: Only people who have signed up on our website with a postal code will receive email invitations to PCE presentations in their specific area. If you aren't sure whether you have provided your postal code, feel free to sign up again on our homepage at www.parentchoice.ca
2. PCE'S successful weekend at the UCP Convention
Early in May PCE was proud to share numerous successes from our experience at the Founding Convention of the United Conservative Party (UCP), including our well-attended exhibit booth and strong support for numerous school choice, family-oriented policies.
PCE also confronted inaccuracies regarding a specific resolution that was widely misrepresented in the media.
Read more information on our blog post “PCE celebrates successes & confronts inaccuracies”
Thank you to ARPA’s Lighthouse News and Sheila Gunn Reid for inviting Donna Trimble, Executive Director of PCE, to clear up misinformation about Resolution 30 and the UCP Convention.
UPCOMING OPPORTUNITIES
1. K-4 NEW curriculum info sessions
Alberta Education and the Alberta School Councils’ Association (ASCA) are gathering parent/guardian feedback on the new draft K-4 provincial curriculum.
Information sessions are scheduled across Alberta from May 31 to June 18, 2018.
Pre-registration is required with limited seats available. For dates, locations and registration links, visit the ASCA website.
2. Nominations - the election before the election
Ever wonder how particular names end up on the election day ballot for each political party in each area?
Long before election day, each political party engages in an internal nomination process. Within each of Alberta's 87 electoral districts individuals are now putting their names forward, vying to become the one whose name will appear on the ballot as an MLA candidate in the 2019 provincial election.
You can view the growing list of nomination contestants who have registered with Elections Alberta by clicking here and then selecting from the different political parties on the left hand side.
Nominations are a critically important step for PCE supporters to have an impact on the electoral process and we encourage you to become involved.
For PCE supporters who want to learn more about how to be involved in the nominations process, please sign up for specialized updates:
3. Bill 24 court challenge & new video
There is a court hearing planned on June 8 in Medicine Hat regarding Bill 24. We will update you as information becomes available about the court hearing outcome.
The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) has also released a new video of an Alberta First Nations father explaining why he is concerned about Bill 24’s aim to keep secrets from parents.
WATCH THE VIDEO by clicking here or on the image below.
SIGN A DECLARATION OF SUPPORT FOR THE COURT CHALLENGE HERE
IN THE NEWS
As part of our monthly update we have included below a number of important education-related articles/resources.
Judge rejects injunction to stay closure of Cornerstone Christian Academy
Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms media release, 2018.05.27
“Without this injunction, Cornerstone will close as of June 30, 2018, and cause 170 kids to lose the school they love. The applicants are considering next steps.” [READ MORE]
Ponoka Christian School among group suing province
Ponoka News, 2018.05.22
"De Gier adds that Bill 24 also violates [Ponoka Christian School] rights by prohibiting notification of parents about, 'these clubs or activities, even where the material covered deals ‘primarily and explicitly’ with sexuality, and regardless of the age or disability of any children involved.'" [READ MORE]
Note: the June 8th court date referred to in the Ponoka News article is related to the Bill 24 court injunction application which is asking the courts to put the new legislation on hold until the courts have made a ruling regarding the constitutionality of the legislation (that hearing is estimated to take place 12-18+ months from now).
Parental rights in education need not conflict with LGBTQ rights
The Post Millennial, 2018.05.12
"There is no conflict between parental rights in education, including the parents’ right to be fully informed about what goes on with their children at school, and the fundamental rights of LGBTQ people to freedom of conscience, expression, association, and peaceful assembly. Those who believe that conflict is necessary need to re-think their understanding of rights and freedoms." [READ MORE]
Parent group holds protest asking for clarity
St. Paul Journal, 2018.05.09
"On Friday, [MLA David] Hanson said his main concern was that students were allegedly taken off school property without parental consent.
... He added that it doesn’t matter who you are or where your kids go to school, it is unacceptable for someone to take a child off school property without permission." [READ MORE]
Sexually graphic material to kids in Alberta schools: Timeline
New May 2018 entry on Theresa Ng's Informed Albertans blog timeline
"Furthermore, if these media and politicians truly cared for the safety of children they would inform Albertans how:
A) an organization, funded and recommended by Alberta Education, directed vulnerable, unsuspecting K-12 children to graphic sexual material last year – including advice to “visit a group masturbation site” and videos of people participating in sexual acts
B) representatives of this same organization stood directly behind the Education Minister a few months later celebrating a new law which now, conveniently, allows sexual and religious content to be provided to K-12 students through extracurricular clubs and activities, with no parental notification requirements."
[READ MORE by clicking on this link or the graphic below]
