The beginning of the end for Catholic Schools?

Will anyone fight for the right to a Catholic education?

Breaking news from The Star:

All schools, including those in the Catholic system, would be forced to allow anti-homophobic clubs to be called “gay-straight alliances” under dramatic changes to a proposed anti-bullying law.
The change of heart on the minority Liberal government’s Accepting Schools Act — which had allowed school principals a veto on names for any student club — was announced Friday afternoon by Education Minister Laurel Broten.
“We believe it’s up to the students,” she told reporters, saying it’s “important for students to have the freedom.”
The move, which has the support of the NDP, comes as an amendment to the government’s anti-bullying bill — which Broten hopes to pass before the legislature rises for its summer break June 7.
Her amendment follows legislative committee hearings on the controversial legislation, which has been a flashpoint at Queen’s Park since it was proposed following the suicides of two students last year — one gay and another with muscular dystrophy.
In a bid to curb bullying with more clout for schools to expel students who pick on others, the bill requires school boards to support student groups for “people of all sexual orientations and gender identities, including organizations with the name gay-straight alliance or another name.”
That language gave schools an escape clause when it came to naming clubs, which can be formed for any common interest or need for mutual support that students identify.
The Progressive Conservatives and some parents and religious leaders have urged the government to remove any reference to gays, lesbians or transgendered students in the bill, saying the mention infers a special status not available to other children who might be victims of bullying for other reasons.

Interestingly, the father of one of the youths who committed suicide argued against one-issue clubs that did not serve to protect all victims of bullying:

The father of suicide victim Jamie Hubley made an emotional plea May 22 at an Ontario government social policy committee hearing that legislators adopt an anti-bullying bill that does not single out any group for special treatment.
The suicide of the openly gay teenager who committed suicide in October at the age of 15 became a driving force for Bill 13 of Ontario's Dalton McGuinty government, which mandates student-led "gay-straight alliances" (GSAs) even in Catholic schools, and considers hatred of homosexual people to be a main cause of bullying.
"I ask you to protect every child equally," Ottawa City Councillor Allan Hubley told public hearings in Ottawa on two proposed anti-bullying bills: Bill 14 (renamed Bill 80) and Bill 13.
Hubley said his son was the only openly gay person at his high school. Having a GSA for just one student "would have made him a target."
The bullying Jamie endured began after he began figure skating at the age of 5. It was often by boys who played hockey, Hubley said. "He was picked on relentlessly."
His son would befriend those who were bullied or hurting, and that also brought attacks. He publicly admitted to his homosexuality in the months prior to his death and had the full support of his family.
Hubley played down the idea that the Rainbow Club Jamie set up was a GSA or had a homosexual activist agenda. His son saw it as a place for everyone who was bullied for whatever reason, he said.