Don't go wearing the charter on your back in Prince Rupert schools

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      CBC Radio One's Daybreak North show has revealed that the Prince Rupert school-district superintendent, Lynn Hauptman, banned teachers from wearing T-shirts highlighting a section of the charter of rights.

      "What we have been asked to do is to ensure that we are insulating students from any political messaging," Hauptman told CBC.

      Hauptman said she made the decision in consultation with the B.C. Public School Employers' Association.

      CBC didn't ask Hauptman if she thought she violated teachers' constitutional right under Section 2(b) of the charter by prohibiting this attire in classrooms.

      The Prince Rupert District Teachers' Union, Diana Larson, told CBC that a handful of teachers had been wearing the shirts for months without incident. But she said that three were warned yesterday not to show up with them in class.

      The Supreme Court of Canada has affirmed that Section 2 of the Canadian Charter of Rights protects workers' collective bargaining rights.

      This ruling came after the Gordon Campbell government ripped up contracts with teachers and health-care workers.

      So far, nobody has gone to the country's highest court to find out if it's a constitutional right to wear the constitution in a public school. But any lawyer will tell you that the charter does apply in public buildings.

      Comments

      1 Comments

      DavidH

      Jan 29, 2013 at 2:50pm

      So, the school super believes that the Constitution and Charter are "political messaging"?

      How very Conservative (Canadian Alliance) of her.

      LOL!