XPost: bc.politics, van.general, can.politics   
   From: Panca@nyet.ca   
      
   Only in BC do we see these things from the Chinese community . . . . a few   
   years back it was 'ghosts that will harm us if you block our views with that   
   building'.   
      
   Before that it was 'change addresses on homes and apartments to not have the   
   number 'four' - which apparently brings bad luck and death.  (aka   
   'tetraphobia')   
      
   Today it's:  Burnaby schools would use an injection to turn students into   
   homosexuals.   
      
   Heaven help us. . .  this non-integration and chinese-only signs and written   
   information is going to be the death of Canadian culture and values yet.   
   ______________________________________________   
      
   The Province - November 1, 2014   
      
   Burnaby politicians pointing fingers over rumour of students being injected   
   with gay serum (with video)   
      
      
   The civic party aiming to knock off Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan in the   
   upcoming municipal election is denying it’s behind an alleged rumour campaign   
   targeting Mandarin-speaking Chinese voters that appears to be connected to the   
   school district’s controversial anti-homophobic policy of three years ago.   
      
   Katrina Chen, who is running for school board as part of Corrigan’s Burnaby   
   Citizens Association (BCA) team, said she laughed at first when a   
   Mandarin-speaking acquaintance asked her two weeks ago if it was true that the   
   BCA would allow Burnaby schools to use an injection on students that could turn   
   them homosexual.   
      
   The acquaintance, who works at a restaurant Chen regularly frequents, said she   
   was told this by a fellow parent at the local community centre.   
      
   Chen said the parent was a volunteer for the opposing Burnaby First Coalition.   
      
   “I was laughing and I thought nobody is going to believe this,” Chen told   
   The   
   Province Friday.  “And she said ‘No, well, actually, a lot of parents gave   
   their contact information because they feel so scared.  So that’s when I   
   started to feel that ‘Oh, my gosh, this is getting out of control.’”   
      
   The BFC categorically denied Friday that anyone associated with the party was   
   involved in the spread of the alleged rumour, and even went so far as to   
   suggest it was a campaign ploy orchestrated by the BCA to divert attention away   
   from them.   
      
   “I’m still scratching my head … asking how such a strange rumour would   
   get   
   started,” said Bruce Friesen, campaign chair for the BFC.  “A flat denial   
   is   
   what we are saying: we have no knowledge of anybody associated with our   
   campaign that is doing this. I mean, they are certainly not getting any   
   direction from anybody here.”   
      
   In 2011, the Burnaby School District adopted policy 5.45, a strategy designed   
   to combat homophobia and provide support for students identifying as lesbian,   
   gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, two-spirited or queer.   
      
   The policy was the subject of much debate and protest, and led to the creation   
   of the Parents’ Voice, a group opposed to it.   
      
   Three members of that group are now running under the BFC banner — Helen Ward   
   and Charter Lau are running for council while Heather Leung is running for   
   school board.   
      
   Friesen said that while the BFC represents a wide range of voices, he doesn’t   
   think anyone from the parents’ group still considers policy 5.45 to be an   
   issue.   
      
   “[M]any of the attitudes and perspectives from prior elections have been set   
   aside or changed through dialogue, and I don’t think you are going to find   
   today that Parents’ Voice people who were running on that particular batch   
   are   
   in the process of running on that issue anymore,” he said. “I think   
   they’ve all   
   learned something from their experience.”   
      
   Even before she heard the rumour, Chen said she read similar inaccurate   
   allegations on an online forum catering to members of the Mandarin-speaking   
   Chinese community.  And more recently, she said she received a letter at her   
   apartment, written in Mandarin, from the “B.C. Parents’ Voice”   
   encouraging   
   voters to support the BFC.   
      
   A copy of the letter, which provides the BFC’s website and a phone number,   
   was   
   provided to The Province.  A partial translation, by Chen’s staff, was also   
   provided.   
      
   “Personally, I don’t agree with dirty campaigns,” said Chen, who also   
   speaks   
   Mandarin.  “But … this is not just an attack on the LGBTQ community, it is   
   an   
   attack on the immigrant community — the Chinese-Mandarin speaking community.   
   They are taking advantage of the people that may not have the language ability   
   to look into the facts, or policy 5.45, or check the school website.   They are   
   also attacking our public education.  Because they are making people feel   
   unsafe about our schools.”   
      
   While he didn’t want to comment on the contents of the letter because he had   
   not seen it, Friesen said it could be a case of third-party advertising.   
      
   “It’s distinctly possible that what’s happened here is that you have some   
   people who are basically supporting the campaign as third-party advertisers,”   
   he said. “And I hope they are following the rules on third-party advertising,   
   because if they aren’t they are the ones that are going to be charged with   
   offences under the Elections Act, not us.”   
      
   Daren Hancott, the mayoral candidate for the BFC, dismissed the rumours as   
   people trying to make “something out of nothing.” He said policy 5.45 is   
   not an   
   election issue.   
      
   “Our candidates aren’t Parents’ Voice and we are a coalition of many   
   independent people, and as far as I’m concerned it’s the past and we are   
   moving   
   forward,” he said, adding he could not comment on the letter because he   
   hadn’t   
   seen it.   
      
   “My personal position (on policy 5.45)? That every kid has equal opportunity,   
   should be protected and needs to reach their full potential and everybody is   
   equal as far as I’m concerned.”   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)