Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - August 28, 2006, Winnipeg, Manitoba Manitoba Winnipeg free press monday August 28, 2006 a5 religious exercises in school take education minister to court retired teacher Wayne Glowacki / Winnipeg free press there cannot be even Subtle pressure on any person to conform with a particular religion ? retired teacher Ivan Pokus by Nick Martin s someone should take education minister Peter Bjornson to court and prod him into enforcing provincial regulations on religious exercises in the school says retired teacher Ivan Pokus. Pokus is unhappy that Bjornson is taking a hands off attitude towards Garden Valley school divisions handling of religious exercises in Winkler and Plum Coulee schools. Pokus knows All about going to court Over religious issues. His dining room table is strewn with court rulings lawyers letters and newspaper clip pings about the five year Odyssey he launched almost 20 years ago which culminated with a Manitoba court striking Down much of the pub Lic schools acts provisions for prayer and Bible readings in Public school classrooms in the sum Mer of 1992. He was a science teacher Back then at Stein Bach regional secondary school and the actions he took Cost him friendships and led to Many people shunning him Pokus said. But it was Worth it. There cannot be even Subtle pressure on any person to conform with a particular religion he said. It is a foregone conclusion for these people that everyone is provincial Law Back in the 1980s required teachers to Lead the lords prayer and scrip Ture Reading at the Start of each school Day Pokus said. What galvanized him into challenging the Law was a series of newspaper stories about Chris Tait a student and atheist at Macgregor collegiate who was twice suspended for five Days in 1986 for refusing to stand for the lords prayer in his classroom. Pokus went to the Manitoba association for rights and liberties in 1987. It want easy he recalled. You become ostracized there is no doubt about that. You have people who would not talk to you and people who would be very support Ive he said adding i never had any problem with the the court decision led the Filmon conserva Tives to have Deputy minister of education John Carlyle Issue guidelines for religious exercises. Carlyle wrote that parents who wished their kids to have religious exercises outside of school hours had to organize themselves with out any help from the school and present a Peti Tion. Such exercises were to be held outside of school hours and somewhere other than the classroom and it was up to parents to opt in and not for non participants to opt out. But Garden Valley holds exercises in the classroom immediately prior to the Start of instructional time and requires non participants to opt out said Pokus if they do it they Are breaking the Law and should be the Manitoba human rights commission has told Garden Valley that its exercises and references in its Mission and belief statements to partnerships with the Church and following Christian principles violate the human rights code. But Bjornson has Only issued a statement that the decision is largely left to individual communities and school divisions As to what is Best for their students and their after the court ruling in 1992, four other Steinbach teachers chose not to supervise religious exercises Pokus said. But non participating students were required to sign an opting out form and had to report to the cafe Teria at 9 . Where attendance was taken ? even though exercises were not to be held Dur ing school hours he said. Tait said from Dauphin that he Hopes the provincial government has the moral courage to act. Forcing children to identify their religious beliefs in a Public school is unacceptable said Tait. There a no monitoring by the province at All said Tait who is now a lawyer. The province has ample evidence that this in to working. 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