A transgendered teacher fired by a Catholic school district is
rejecting a settlement offer because it would require him to keep quiet
and drop a human rights complaint.
Jan Buterman says he will proceed
with his complaint against Greater St. Albert Catholic Schools, which
wrote him a letter in 2008 praising his abilities but dismissing him for
not being aligned with the values of the Catholic Church.
Buterman, who was a substitute
teacher in St. Albert, just north of Edmonton, says the publicly funded
school district can’t buy his silence with an offer of $78,000 cash or a
one-year teaching job.
“I don’t want to be muzzled,” says
Buterman, who has worked as a teacher elsewhere since he was fired.
“They don’t want me to talk about the fact that they, as an employer,
claiming authority from the Catholic Church, have discriminated against
me because of my medical status as a transsexual person.”
Buterman says he expects the Catholic
school board will ask the Alberta Human Rights Commission to dismiss
his complaint.
The commission has the right by law not to send a case to
a hearing if a “fair and reasonable settlement” is offered.
David Keohane, superintendent of the
Catholic school district, says the board has been working with the human
rights commission to try to ensure the offer is seen as fair and
reasonable.
“It is about how the commission is
being satisfied with how we are dealing with the issue and the
appearance of being reasonable,” he says.
“Everything is completely reasonable
... given the absolute nature of how the issue represented itself, and
we believe that we have been abundantly fair.”
The Alberta Teachers’ Association
also appears to think so. The union has decided it will no longer pay
for Buterman’s lawyers, who have called the cash offer “substantial” and
advised him that it’s more than most employers would offer a short-term
employee.
They have also suggested that rejecting the settlement
because of its confidentiality clause could make Buterman look bad.
“After dismissal, the issue of focus
could then be on the monetary amount or types of settlement offered to
you, rather than the nature of your complaint,” the lawyers say in a
letter.
“It is easy to imagine the variety of
negative conclusions that could be drawn from it, including those that
focus on the generosity (of the board) towards you.”
Buterman, who is also a political activist with the Trans Equality Society of Alberta, scoffs at the suggestion.
For months he spoke out in favour of
federal Bill C-389, which would have amended the Canadian Human Rights
Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity or gender
expression.
The bill passed third reading in Parliament earlier this
year, but died in the Senate last month when the federal election was
called.
Buterman says he has a right to speak out about the discrimination he faced.
“People like us have all experienced
job harassment, job discrimination, job loss — it is a common theme in
the community,” he says.
“The only difference between me and everyone
else is that I got mine in writing. I have no interest in pretending it
didn’t happen.”
Dennis Theobald, a spokesman for the
teachers’ association, says the union doesn’t believe a person should be
discriminated against on the basis of gender or sexual orientation.
But
he believes it would be difficult to win a complaint under Alberta’s
human rights legislation.
“We have to evaluate the cases that we are representing and make decisions on prospects for success,” he says.
“This is not a reflection on any
change of policy on our part. It is an assessment based upon the way in
which the law is written and these cases proceed.”
While Buterman grapples with the Catholic board, minority sexual rights are being handled differently just down the road.
Edmonton Public Schools recently
passed a motion to develop a policy to prevent harassment of and
discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual/transgendered
students and staff.
The board plans to have the policy in place by
September.
Board chairman Dave Colbourn said
there is no way a teacher in the Edmonton public system would be fired
for being transsexual or transgendered.
“I would say the possibility of
someone being fired because they identified themselves as being
transgendered or a member of the sexual minority population — that would
be absolutely abhorrent, unacceptable and simply would not be allowed
to happen,” he said.
“I don’t think a person’s sexuality
should be a determinant in their professional standing as a teacher. We
are talking about ensuring basic human rights are accorded people
regardless of their sexual identity.
“We are taking about fairness. We are talking about equity. We are talking about justice.”
But the Edmonton board hasn’t always been so open-minded.
In 1988, elementary school teacher
Carol Allan told the board she was making the transition from a man to a
woman.
The board forced her out of her classroom job while school
officials grappled with how to deal with her.
The board tried to buy out
her contract, but she refused.
When Allan’s lawyer made it clear she
was prepared to take the case to court, the board gave Allan a job
teaching adults.
Allan says she missed her old job,
but stuck it out and was eventually allowed back into an elementary
classroom.
She retired after 31 years as a teacher.
She praised Buterman’s decision to reject the Catholic board’s offer.
“Jan, fight the fight,” she
said.”
Don’t give in. Don’t say ... ‘I’m not going to fight you. I’m
going to be good and quiet and not talk about this. I won’t bother you
about this.’
“No. Fight the fight.”