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Calgary Catholic School District officials have confirmed that its teachers are required to sign documents that suggest same-sex or common-law relationships are a breach of employment contracts, amid a province-wide controversy over the practice.

But now that a Calgary teacher has brought her case before the Alberta Human Rights Commission, LGBTQ advocates say the issue will continue to be challenged, especially since the NDP’s Bill 24 legislates all schools to create GSAs for students that want that support.

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“How can these contracts — these Catholicity clauses — be allowed to stand when they are clearly discriminatory,” said Kristopher Wells, associate professor with the Faculty of Health and Community Studies at MacEwan University.

“It’s hard to believe that in 2018, when same-sex marriage is legal in this country, that anyone could lose their job because of that.”

Wells says allowing such clauses that require teachers to uphold “Catholic values,” which include engaging only in relationships deemed appropriate by the church, also create a dangerous environment of fear and exclusion not just among teachers but also young students.