CALGARY – A controversial post on Facebook by Calgary MLA Sandra Jansen is revealing what she calls “back room politics” under Jim Prentice’s PC government.
In a Sunday post, Jansen expressed disappointment and regret over Bill 10, a controversial piece of legislation related to Gay Straight Alliances (GSAs) in Alberta schools.
“I was ineffective as an advocate,” wrote the PC MLA. “I also failed as a communicator and a legislator. I am painfully aware of this and will work to make sure it never happens again.”
Read Jansen’s full post below:
In its original form last fall, Bill 10 gave the final say for GSAs to the school boards and told students to go to court if they wanted to challenge it. Then-Premier Jim Prentice said this was the best way to balance the rights of kids, students, and parents. The bill replaced Liberal MLA Laurie Blakeman’s private member’s Bill 202, which would have mandated GSAs in any school where a student requested one.
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When public outrage grew on social media and elsewhere, the Tories passed an amendment in December allowing the government to set up GSAs at unwilling schools, but with the option of putting the clubs off school grounds. Critics pounced on the amendment as institutionalized segregation of gays akin to “separate but equal” Jim Crow laws used to debase African-Americans more than a generation ago. Prentice then put the bill on hold, and introduced a new version making it mandatory to allow GSAs in schools where students want one last April.
Jansen was one MLA who brought forth some amendments to the bill — changes that would have meant the students who wanted the GSA in their school would have needed school board approval.
It was a decision that raised concern within the LGBTQ community, especially since Jansen had been an outspoken supporter. But one outspoken GSA supporter said he can understand why Jansen may have bowed to social pressure.
“I don’t blame her really,” said high school student Sam Dyck. “In the same situation of government and school and Prentice and bullies, I folded under that and hid myself for quite some time.”
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Following Sunday’s Facebook post, Jansen apologized and told Global News she regretted the decisions she says she made because of pressure from then-Premier Prentice.
“My biggest disappointment is in myself. I didn’t say, ‘no we can’t do it this way,'” she said. “There was a lot of discussion around, ‘was this constitutional? Can we even do this…whether Albertans want this?’ And I doubted myself and my political instincts and that’s the thing I regret the most.”
Jansen said the reason she’s coming out now with this apology is because of the accusations and attacks she was facing on social media following her participation in Calgary’s Pride parade. She said it was time to set the record straight.
“The difficulty for me was doing something because I was told. It was important to be a part of the team and part of the script and it didn’t sit well with me ethically,” she said. “We all make mistakes and I made a mistake. And going forward I want to be true to myself and true to the people who elected me in Calgary Northwest.”
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GSA advocates respect her apology, but some don’t like the timing of her confession.
“I would expect elected government officials to stand up; she didn’t,” said GSA supporter Mike Morrison. “Students…are so brave. They were the ones forced to come to the media because of Ms. Jansen’s actions–that’s the part that bugs me the most. They were pushed into the spotlight without asking for that.”
Despite the politics surrounding it — in the end — Bill 10 passed without any amendment and allows students to meet on school property without the requirement for approval.
Students within these groups say they are life-changing circles of support and gives them a safe place they can belong.
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