Hundreds sign petition in support of N.B. teen suspended for ‘straight pride' shirt
A rural New Brunswick school is the centre of a petition calling for steps to remove its principal, claiming among other things that a student was allegedly suspended for wearing a shirt that said, 'straight pride.'
The three-page petition racked up 390 signatures before being presented to the legislature on Monday.
According to the petition, the student at Belleisle Regional High School was told his shirt was a hate crime, and that he could not return to school for five school days.
Get daily National news
Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy
The petition is calling the response discrimination.
'Whereas disciplinary action appears to have been based solely on the content of the message on the shirt, raising concerns of viewpoint discrimination and the unequal application of school policies,' the petition said.
'If the punishment is linked to the student's identity or beliefs, and if others with different identities or beliefs are treated more favourably, this is discrimination under the New Brunswick Human Rights Act, Equality rights,' it added.
Story continues below advertisement
Among the signatories were three Progressive Conservative MLAs, including former education minister Bill Hogan.
The district is disputing the claims.
A spokesperson for the Anglophone School District South said in a statement that the petition included many false assertions, including that anyone was suspended for a hate crime.
To learn more about the district's response, what the province's PC leader has to say about the signatures and what one LGBTQ+ advocate has to say about 'straight pride' watch the video above.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Global News
an hour ago
- Global News
Manitoba premier promotes more interprovincial trade, possible energy corridor
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew has announced another interprovincial trade deal, and has promoted plans for a northern energy corridor that could include a pipeline. Kinew told the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce that his government is finalizing a memorandum with British Columbia to cut trade barriers between the two provinces. Similar to a recent deal with Ontario, it's aimed at allowing more goods and services to flow freely, and Kinew says it will give Manitobans access to another big market. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Kinew also told the business crowd he plans to have Manitoba show itself as the path to getting natural resources to tidewater. He says among the possibilities are a new port on Hudson Bay and a pipeline to carry anything from oil to potash slurry. Kinew says something needs to get built in Western Canada, and it's up to the private sector to build a business case for the best plan. Story continues below advertisement
Global News
an hour ago
- Global News
Trump wants Supreme Court to allow for gutting of education department
Donald Trump's administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday to permit it to proceed with dismantling the Department of Education, a move that would leave school policy in the United States almost entirely in the hands of states and local boards. The Justice Department asked the court to halt Boston-based U.S. District Judge Myong Joun's May 22 ruling that ordered the administration reinstate employees terminated in a mass layoff and end further actions to shutter the department. The Justice Department said the lower court lacked jurisdiction to 'second-guess the Executive's internal management decisions,' referring to the federal government's executive branch. 'The government has been crystal clear in acknowledging that only Congress can eliminate the Department of Education. And the government has acknowledged the need to retain sufficient staff to continue fulfilling statutorily mandated functions and has kept the personnel that, in its judgment, are necessary for those tasks. The challenged (reduction in force) is fully consistent with that approach,' the filing said. Story continues below advertisement The department, created by a U.S. law passed by Congress in 1979, oversees about 100,000 public and 34,000 private schools in the United States, though more than 85% of public school funding comes from state and local governments. It provides federal grants for needy schools and programs, including money to pay teachers of children with special needs, fund arts programs and replace outdated infrastructure. It also oversees the $1.6 trillion in student loans held by tens of millions of Americans who cannot afford to pay for college outright. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Trump's move to dismantle the department is part of the Republican president's campaign to downsize and reshape the federal government. Closing the department long has been a goal of many U.S. conservatives. 1:50 Trump to sign executive order in attempt to close down U.S. Education Department Attorneys general from 20 states and the District of Columbia, as well as school districts and unions representing teachers, sued to block the Trump administration's efforts to gut the department. The states argued that the massive job cuts will render the agency unable to perform core functions authorized by statute, including in the civil rights arena, effectively usurping Congress's authority in violation of the U.S. Constitution. Story continues below advertisement Trump on March 20 signed an executive order intended to effectively shut down the department, making good on a longstanding campaign promise to conservatives to move education policy almost completely to states and local boards. At a White House ceremony surrounded by children and educators, Trump called the order a first step 'to eliminate' the department. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon announced plans on March 11 to carry out a mass termination of employees. Those layoffs would leave the department with 2,183 workers, down from 4,133 when Trump took office in January. The department said in a press release those terminations were part of its 'final mission.' Trump on March 21 announced plans to transfer the department's student loan portfolio to the Small Business Administration and its special education, nutrition and related services to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which also is facing deep job cuts. Joun in his ruling ordered the administration to reinstate the laid off workers and halt implementation of Trump's directive to transfer student loans and special needs programs to other federal agencies. The judge rejected the argument put forth by Justice Department lawyers that the mass terminations were aimed at making the department more efficient while fulfilling its mission. In fact, Joun ruled, the job cuts were an effort to shut down the department without the necessary approval of Congress. 'This court cannot be asked to cover its eyes while the department's employees are continuously fired and units are transferred out until the department becomes a shell of itself,' the judge wrote. Story continues below advertisement White House spokesperson Harrison Fields called the judge's ruling 'misguided.' The Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on June 4 rejected the Trump administration's request to pause the injunction issued by Joun. —Reporting by John Kruzel
Global News
3 hours ago
- Global News
India's Modi to attend G7 leaders' summit in Canada this month
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi says he will be attending the upcoming G7 leaders' summit in Kananaskis, Alta., later this month, thanking Prime Minister Mark Carney for his invitation. Modi has attended four G7 summits in person since 2019 and a fifth virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic. 'Glad to receive a call from Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada,' Modi said in a post on X. 'Congratulated him on his recent election victory and thanked him for the invitation to the G7 Summit in Kananaskis later this month.' The Prime Minister's Office confirmed an invitation had been extended in a readout regarding a phone call between the two leaders, stating the pair agreed to stay in contact and looked forward to meeting at the summit. Story continues below advertisement The readout said the two also discussed the relationship between Canada and India and agreed to 'continued law enforcement dialogue and discussions addressing security concerns.' Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy But Modi's attendance comes as relations between the two countries remain tense, amid mounting foreign interference concerns and continued investigations of the 2023 killing of a Sikh separatist leader in British Columbia, which former prime minister Justin Trudeau publicly said was done by 'agents of the Indian government.' 6:03 India and Pakistan ceasefire aided by 'very proactive' negotiators including U.S. In October 2024, MPs on a parliamentary committee called for an emergency meeting on allegations of Indian foreign interference in Canada after six Indian diplomats and consular officials were expelled. That expulsion was 'in relation to a targeted campaign against Canadian citizens by agents linked to the government of India.' The tensions had members of the Indian diaspora in Canada on edge, with families and students expressing concerns about travel if the conflict were to escalate to visa suspensions. Story continues below advertisement India has long denied any involvement in Nijjar's killing and accused Trudeau of pursuing a 'political agenda.' — with files from Global News and The Canadian Press
