News & Stories

Teacher’s Morality “Unbecoming”

July 1, 2005

[AT HOME: CANADA] Dr. Chris Kempling, a Christian counselor at a Canadian high school, has lost a legal battle over freedom of speech and religion. Kempling was charged with “conduct unbecoming” a teacher by the British Columbia College of Teachers for editorials he wrote in a local newspaper defending traditional marriage. 
 
In a decision handed down on June 13, the British Columbia Court of Appeal said that Kempling had no protection under the Canadian Charter of Freedoms because his editorials were discriminatory and damaging to the integrity of the public school system. The Christian Legal Fellowship of Canada and other legal organizations defended Kempling’s freedom of speech. According to Ruth Ross, executive director of the Christian legal group, “This is a dangerous precedent to set. All professionals will be extremely cautious in speaking out on matters of public interest . . . for fear of being cited for ‘conduct unbecoming a professional.’”