Chris Kempling

Christopher S. M. Kempling is a teacher at a high school in Quesnel, British Columbia, who was suspended without pay for writing, on his own time, letters to the editor of a local newspaper, the Quesnel Cariboo Observer, critical of the British Columbia Teachers' Federation (BCTF). Kempling criticized the BCTF for promoting a what he considered to be a pro-LGBT agenda for the school curriculum. Kempling's suspension, upheld by the courts, is an example of how gay rights in Canada have expanded and can conflict with freedom of expression and religious freedom in Canada.

The BCTF is the province-wide union that Kempling must be a member of in order to teach in a public school in British Columbia. As such, Kempling was publicly critizing his own union in the letters to the editor. Kempling's original letters, written in the time period 1997 to 2000, objected to the BCTF distributing teaching-aid literature produced by the "Gay and Lesbian Educators of BC." To make his points, he cited various conservative studies showing alleged harm caused by the "homosexual lifestyle".

Kempling was cited in the Spring of 2001 for professional misconduct by the British Columbia College of Teachers (BCCT), a body that regulates teachers in British Columbia. A year later, the citation was heard by a Hearing Panel of the Disciplinary Committee of the BCCT. The BCCT's position was that a teacher holds a position of trust, confidence and responsibility, which may lead confidence issues for the teacher and school and disrupt the education system.

Kempling's suspension was completed and he returned to work at the school. Subsequent to the initial letters, Kempling has also expressed his views in a CBC Radio interview, which resulted in a reprimand by the District Principal – Operations for expressing his views. He also ran unsuccessfully as the Christian Heritage Party of Canada candidate in the Cariboo—Prince George riding during the Canadian federal election, 2006.

Alleged rights violations

In speeches, on the radio, and in seeking to asset his rights in courts and tribunals, Kempling's main points are that his treatment was a violation of his freedom of expression rights because he wrote the letters on his own time, he was expressing common social conservative opinions, and there were no complaints to the school or the BCCT from the public prior to the disciplinary action. He also said that it was a violation of his religious freedom rights as Kempling's views are based on his Christian beliefs. He has stated that he is not homophobic and has "yet to meet a gay person with whom I do not get along."

The Canadian Charter of Rights explicitly protects both the freedom of expression and religious rights as fundamental freedoms. In 1995, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that "sexual orientation" should be 'read in' to the section covering equality rights.

Kempling appealed to the courts to over-turn his suspension. The Supreme Court of British Columbia and the British Columbia Court of Appeal both upheld the BCCT disciplinary action. The BC Civil Liberties Association and the BC Public School Employers Association both intervened against Kempling in the Court of Appeal case. The BC Human Rights Tribunal denied his complaint in November, 2005. The Supreme Court of Canada decided in January, 2006, that they will not hear the case at this time.

In a press release issued after failing to make progress at the Supreme Court of Canada, Kempling stated "It is my intention to keep on fighting by filing a formal complaint with the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. While that won't affect today's court decision, it may embarrass Canada into reviewing its alleged commitment to free speech rights for religious minorities."