Thomas Lukaszuk is currently receiving considerable media attention for his Forever Canada campaign. He initiated a petition for a referendum to reaffirm Albertans’ unquestioning submission to the federal government’s continuing economic plundering and abuse of the province. This makes him a hero in the eyes of Canada’s progressives.Lukaszuk, of course, was once a cabinet minister in Alberta’s government. Even in this role, he already manifested progressive ideals. Lukaszuk was Minister of Education in 2012 when the government decided to replace the old School Act with a new Education Act, then known as Bill 2.It passed first reading on February 14, 2012. Section 16 of Bill 2 stipulated that all instructional materials in schools “must reflect the diverse nature and heritage of society in Alberta, promote understanding and respect for others and honour and respect the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Alberta Human Rights Act.” The bill also defined “school” to include “a parent providing a home education program.”This wording clearly implied that all instruction conducted by home educating parents would be subject to the Alberta Human Rights Act. Of course, since the Alberta Human Rights Act recognizes “sexual orientation” as a protected category, it would seem to prohibit important Christian principles of sexual morality. For example, teaching the historic Christian doctrine forbidding all sexual activity outside of monogamous heterosexual marriage would likely violate the Alberta Human Rights Act.Therefore, the Alberta Home Education Association (AHEA) argued that the proposed Education Act was a threat to Christian home educators: “Individuals or groups with special interest agendas could take action against home educating families by utilizing [section 16] of the Act.”.In short, the fear was that home educators, and even private schools, would not be permitted to teach the historic Christian view that homosexuality is sinful.This fear was reinforced by Lukaszuk’s assistant director of communications, Donna McColl. She was quoted as saying, “Whatever the nature of schooling — homeschool, private school, Catholic school — we do not tolerate disrespect for differences.” She went on to say, “You can affirm the family’s ideology in your family life, you just can’t do it as part of your educational study and instruction.”When she was asked to clarify what she meant by disrespecting diversity, McColl said that families “can’t be hatemongering, if you will.” Of course, progressive dogma considers the traditional Christian view of sexuality to constitute “hate.”Paul Faris, the lawyer for the Home School Legal Defence Association of Canada (HSLDA), said it appeared that the “long arm of the government wants to reach into families’ homes and control what they teach to their own children in their own homes about religion, sexuality, and morality.” He went on to point out that these “are not the words of a government that is friendly to homeschooling or to parental freedom.”AHEA and HSLDA encouraged home educators throughout Alberta to contact their MLAs and the Minister of Education to request that the offending section of Bill 2 be removed. A rally was organized at the Alberta Legislature on March 5, and approximately 500 home educators attended to protest against Bill 2. Lukaszuk attended the rally but rejected the concerns of home educators. After the rally, he cynically tweeted: “Attended a rally put on by some home schoolers who protest against human rights in education.”.A second rally was held at the Alberta Legislature on March 19. This time, over 2100 people came to oppose Bill 2, making it probably the largest political protest by home educators in Canadian history.The government continued to ignore the concerns of home educators, so the situation looked bleak. Then, on March 26, the government called a general election, causing all legislation that had not passed third reading to die. This included Bill 2.The fear remained, though, that if the Progressive Conservatives were reelected, Bill 2 would be reintroduced and passed. The PCs were, in fact, reelected on April 23.However, when Bill 3, the post-election version of the Education Act, was introduced into the Legislature, the wording of section 16 had been changed to accommodate the concerns of home educators. It simply used the language of the previous School Act, which did not mention the Alberta Human Rights Act. This was a major victory.However, progressives were unhappy with Bill 3. Kent Hehr, a Liberal MLA from Calgary, wrote a letter to the National Post complaining that the new law “allows parents who homeschool to teach their children that being gay is a sin.” He went on to say that this “is hurtful and regressive.”.Clearly, in Hehr’s view, homeschooling parents should not be allowed to teach their children that homosexuality is a sin. Progressives have a particular view of sexuality, as is their right. However, many of them want to shove their views down the throats of conservative Christians. This was the issue with Bill 2 in 2012. It was also a tendency evident when the NDP government of Rachel Notley moved to shut down some private Christian schools in 2018. Although Lukaszuk is no longer a threat, he should be remembered for his role in Bill 2. For there are still progressives eager to finish the job he and Notley failed to accomplish and impose their views on others.
