Catholic public health board nominee dumped
City council has voted 20-17 to put a Toronto District School Board trustee onto the 13-member board of health, bumping the Catholic school board’s nominee after critics objected to her voting record on a range of topics.
“I’m really disappointed,” Angela Kennedy said Tuesday night.
“People are allowed to believe in things. I have a viewpoint which is my viewpoint. You can’t discriminate against me for my beliefs,” she said.
The Civic Appointments Committee recommended Kennedy’s appointment — which would have made her the first representative from the Toronto Catholic District School Board in 13 years.
But her voting record as a long-standing trustee did not sit well with several councillors. Kennedy, a registered nurse for 45 years, has voted against gay-straight clubs in schools, HPV vaccinations for young girls and is opposed to abortion.
“Thankfully, council did the right thing,” said Councillor Joe Mihevc (open Joe Mihevc's policard), chair of the Toronto Board of Health who introduced the motion to replace Kennedy with Chris Glover, a public school board trustee from Etobicoke.
Mihevc said Kennedy’s “consistent” opposition to gay-straight alliances makes her unsuitable to sit as a board member, he said.
“Would we allow that as a society if it was black-white alliances? That’s what human rights are about and those perspectives in a public health context just won’t work.”
Mayor John Tory (open John Tory's policard) supported Kennedy’s appointment, though he said he disagrees “completely” with her views on HPV vaccinations, gay/straight alliances in schools and a woman’s right to choose.
“If we started applying every test based on whether we disagree with somebody’s views on people we appoint to things . . . it’s sure going to change the nature of this place.”
Councillors Paula Fletcher (open Paula Fletcher's policard), Gord Perks (open Gord Perks's policard) and Joe Cressy (open Joe Cressy's policard) did not support Kennedy’s appointment. “These are actually human rights issues, the right for gays and lesbians to lead an equal life in the city of Toronto,” Fletcher said.
Kennedy is the wrong fit because the board of health has an obligation to deliver programs that meet health standards set out in legislation, such as programs to encourage safer sex, Perks said.
“This isn’t about whether you’re trying to get people on the board of health who vote the way you feel,” he said. “It is whether or not we are prepared to appoint people who support the legal mandate of the entity they are being appointed to.”
Kennedy said she is looking at her options, including filing a human rights complaint.
