St. Albert's candidates for Catholic trustee vowed to stand up to Education Minister David Eggen this week – a man one of them compared to Adolf Hitler.
About 45 people came to Holy Family Parish Thursday night for an all-candidates forum for this month's Ward 1 Greater St. Albert Catholic Schools trustee byelection. Five out of the six candidates participated. Candidate Moire Hogg did not.
Organized by St. Albert lawyer Liam Connelly, the forum asked candidates questions on Catholic education from a panel and the audience.
Candidate Brigitte Cecelia introduced herself as a pro-church candidate with seven home-schooled kids and said it was "time to push back" against the provincial government.
"The biggest bully today in our classroom is the provincial government. If you do not believe that statement, I would not be happy to lead you in the next few years."
Later, when asked what she would do if the province restricted a parent's involvement in moral decisions related to their children in school, she made reference to "the very recent letter we've received from Minister David Eggen."
"Does anyone have a copy of (Adolf) Hitler's Mein Kampf? Because I think we can pressure him with some plagiarism charges there," she said, referring to the notorious anti-Semitic text.
"That's actually funny," she added moments later, eliciting one audible chuckle from the crowd.
The Gazette was unable to determine what letter Cecelia was referring to and could not reach her for clarification by press time. St. Albert Catholic board chair Noreen Radford, who was in the audience, did not know, and Catholic board communications manager Carol Bruineman said the board had not received any letter from Eggen.
Cecelia may have been referencing Eggen's recent letter to the Independent Baptist Christian Education Society asking for proof that they would protect a student's right to form a gay-straight alliance, or his open letter to Alberta students on that same right.
Candidate Joe Becigneul said his decades of volunteer and government experience made him the one best suited to negotiate with the province to get stable funding for education.
"I want to play a major role in the curriculum review that's set to take place over the next several years," he said.
Candidate Greg Schell said that "we are under threat" from the provincial government and that the NDP would like to see one and not two school systems in Alberta.
Candidate Kenton Zerbin pitched the importance of cross-curricular education throughout the evening.
Candidate Alyssa Frew emphasized her experience as a teacher, noting that she had taught at every Catholic elementary and junior high in St. Albert.
Questions and answers
When asked how they would resolve a conflict between the interest of parents, government, and the Church, Cecelia, after referring to a book on Catholic saints who died for their beliefs, said, "We are all called to be saints. If we have to choose between our God and our state, we will choose our God."
Frew said that while people did have to follow the law, they could still express their faith even if restrained by the government by living as Jesus did.
Becigneul said that if the government passed a law that was contrary to our faith, "It's up to us to prove to them that it's not right."
Candidates criticized a recent report from Public Interest Alberta that gave Greater St. Albert Catholic Schools a "D" when it came to its protection of LGBTQ rights.
Becigneul said the report was too narrow in scope, and that bullying was an issue that would not go away. Schell said "special interests" were trying to make bullying an issue exclusive to them. Cecelia said she was fine with a "D" or "F" as those could stand for "dogma" or "fundamentalist."
Frew said that the report's grades were irrelevant, as the province has said it would not grade the LGBTQ policies of schools.
"What matters is if our children in our schools are safe."
"We have work to do" on this front and have to address bullying, Zerbin said.
"If we're going to be loving, open-armed and respectful, we need to model that."
The byelection to choose one candidate is Sept. 19. Visit www.gsacrd.ab.ca for details.
