Surrey school districtB次元官网网址檚 rejection of a B次元官网网址淜halistan referendumB次元官网网址� voting event that was set for Sept. 10 at Tamanawis secondary school in Newton over promotional posters displaying an assault rifle being stabbed by a pencil has raised the question whether using public schools for plebiscites related to politics outside Canada should be permitted in the first place.
Typically schools are used as ballot stations for federal, provincial and civic general elections. But this particular event at the Surrey school, before it was cancelled, would have seen Sikh voters weigh in on a non-binding referendum on whether the state of Punjab in India should become an independent nation called Khalistan.
On Sunday (Sept. 3) the school district cancelled the B次元官网网址渃ommunity rentalB次元官网网址� on grounds promotional material for the event depicted images B次元官网网址渙f our school, alongside images of a weapon,B次元官网网址� which according to a statement issued by the district violated the rental agreement.
B次元官网网址漁ur decision is in no way an endorsement of, or criticism of, any political position,B次元官网网址� the statement reads. B次元官网网址淲e have communicated the cancellation to the event organizers and have initiated the refund process for any payments made in connection with the rental.B次元官网网址�
Surrey-Green Timbers MLA and Education Minister Rachna Singh has not responded to requests for comment. Meantime, Surrey school trustee Garry Thind told the Now-Leader, B次元官网网址淔rankly, I donB次元官网网址檛 know how it got booked at the first point.B次元官网网址�
If the department in charge of facility rentals would have consulted himself first, he said, as a person who B次元官网网址渒nows that community well, I could have told them not to get into this at that time because I knew it will be very, very political, they cannot win both sides. One side will be unhappy regardless of what you do.B次元官网网址�
Thind noted school rental income is important to the district, at hundreds of thousands of dollars each year, for B次元官网网址渧ery important programsB次元官网网址� for B次元官网网址渕ost vulnerable students.B次元官网网址�
But as for renting a school for a referendum related to politics outside of Canada, he said, B次元官网网址渨ould have been a first.B次元官网网址�
Going forward, he said, he thinks the school district will alter its school rental policies to exclude voting events related to politics outside of Canada. B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檒l be done more transparently so none of these incidents will happen in future,B次元官网网址� he said.
Trustee Gary Tymoschuk, vice-chairman of the school board, said sometimes policies need to be reviewed and revised.
B次元官网网址淎s current chair of the policy committee thatB次元官网网址檚 something that we could look at,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淕arryB次元官网网址檚 saying it should be changed, certainly weB次元官网网址檒l look at it.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淭his would have been a decision at the staff level,B次元官网网址� he said of the current matter. B次元官网网址淚t didnB次元官网网址檛 even come to the board, it didnB次元官网网址檛 need to come to the board, again because we have a policy in place. As long as the policy was followed and I believe it was, I donB次元官网网址檛 know, I canB次元官网网址檛 say for sure, but once the posters start going out and depicting, you know, essentially violence and a picture of our school thatB次元官网网址檚 when it became a problem, and that is against our policy.B次元官网网址�
Stewart Prest, a professor of political science at UBC, said using a Canadian school to stage a referendum vote related to another country is not something heB次元官网网址檇 heard of before now.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a highly contested subject; thatB次元官网网址檚 where you get into some of the real challenges,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭o avoid any kind of expression of state support for interference in another countryB次元官网网址檚 political problem. ItB次元官网网址檚 the sort of thing where there may be diplomatic implications for Canadian institutions being seen to be in some sense supportive or at least open to those kind of endeavours.B次元官网网址�
After all, Prest noted, B次元官网网址渟chools as public institutions are venues of the state.B次元官网网址�
tom.zytaruk@surreynowleader.com
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