Chris Kempling

Christopher Stephen Myles Kempling (born October 15, 1955) is a Canadian educator who was suspended by the British Columbia College of Teachers and disciplined by the Quesnel School District for anti-gay comments in letters to the editor of the Quesnel Cariboo Observer.

Kempling challenged the suspension in court, arguing that his right to freedom of expression had been violated.

The British Columbia Court of Appeal ruled against him, ruling that limitations on his freedom of expression were justified by the school's duty to maintain a tolerant and discrimination-free environment.

Kempling filed a complaint with the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal alleging that the disciplinary action taken against him by the school district infringed his freedom of religion; this complaint was dismissed on similar grounds.

Conservative commentators have described Kempling's case as an example of how gay rights in Canada have come into conflict with freedom of expression and religious freedom, while others have used it to highlight the importance of combating discrimination in public schools.

He has also run for elected office on two occasions with the Christian Heritage Party of Canada.

Kempling had been employed as a teacher and counsellor by the Quesnel School District at a high school in Quesnel, British Columbia since 1990.

In 1997 he began to write a series of letters to the editor of a local newspaper, the Quesnel Cariboo Observer, disagreeing with the way that homosexuality was being presented in the curriculum.

With regard to homosexuality, he claimed:

I refuse to be a false teacher saying that promiscuity is acceptable, perversion is normal, and immorality is simply 'cultural diversity' of which we should be proud.

Among other things, Kempling objected that the British Columbia Teachers' Federation, the union that represents teachers in British Columbia, was distributing literature produced by the Gay and Lesbian Educators of BC which in his view was erroneous.

He also cited various studies that he interprets as showing harm caused by what he described as the "homosexual lifestyle".

Kempling, an advocate of conversion therapy, wrote:

The American Psychological Association finds insufficient evidence supporting the idea that sexual orientation can be changed and notes that conversion therapy can be harmful, while the American Psychiatric Association questions the scientific validity of the theories behind conversion therapy, notes reports of harm, and actively recommends against it.

For these letters, Kempling was cited in May 2001 for conduct unbecoming by the British Columbia College of Teachers (BCCT), the body which regulates the teaching profession in British Columbia.

This led to a hearing in May 2002 before the BCCT Disciplinary Committee, which ruled that Kempling’s statements could create an environment that was hostile and discriminatory to gay and lesbian students and suspended him for one month.

Kempling challenged his suspension in court, arguing that his treatment violated his rights to free expression because he wrote the letters on his own time, he was expressing common social conservative opinions, and there were no complaints to the school board 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 his views are based on his religious beliefs.

While his appeals were in process, Kempling was interviewed by CBC Radio in January, 2003, and made statements similar to those he had expressed in his letters.

In response to this, his school district wrote him a letter instructing him not to express his views on homosexuality in any school setting or publish them elsewhere.

The citation is based on events that occurred between February 2003 and April 2005, including the following allegations:

In a 2004 ruling, the Supreme Court of British Columbia upheld the BCCT disciplinary action.

In January, 2004, Kempling was interviewed by CBC Radio North, this time about the private counselling service that he was advertising in Prince George, which offered therapy for gay men who want to become straight.

This interview became the rationale for a formal letter of reprimand from the Quesnel School District, which concluded that Kempling had contravened their earlier instructions.

The disciplinary action was taken with the stated goal of "ensur[ing] that there is no poisoned environment for either students in schools or staff working in Board facilities in the District. District schools must remain places where there is sensitivity to issues and where an atmosphere of tolerance and respect exist."

In response to this disciplinary action, Kempling complained to the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal that his religious freedom was being infringed.

Kempling appealed this ruling to the British Columbia Court of Appeal, which affirmed the lower court's decision in 2005.

The three-judge Court of Appeal panel found that Kempling’s statements were discriminatory as they were "based on stereotypical notions about homosexuality and demonstrate a willingness to judge individuals on the basis of those stereotypes."

While harm to individual staff or students was not established, the Court found that discriminatory statements by a teacher regarding his or her professional duties necessarily harmed the integrity of the school system.

Kempling's right to freedom of expression under Section Two of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms was found to have been breached, but this limit was found to be reasonable under Section One, given the importance of "ensuring a tolerant and discrimination-free environment, and restoring and upholding the integrity of the school system."

The Court determined that, as Kempling had not introduced evidence to identify his religion or establish its tenets, no violation of his right to freedom of religion could be established.

Intervening on Kempling's behalf in the Court of Appeal hearing were the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, the Catholic Civil Rights League, the Christian Teachers Association, The Christian Legal Fellowship, and the British Columbia Teachers' Federation.

The British Columbia Civil Liberties Association and the British Columbia Public School Employers' Association intervened on behalf of the BCCT.

In November, 2005, the Tribunal ruled that the comments made in the interview were similar to the statements which the Court of Appeal had found to be discriminatory.

Concluding that the Quesnel School District would be able to establish that the restrictions placed on Kempling formed a bona fide occupational requirement necessary to "ensur[e] the school system is free from discriminatory attitudes about homosexuals," the tribunal dismissed the complaint.

In 2005, while his case was before the Human Rights Tribunal, Kempling became the Christian Heritage Party of Canada candidate in the riding of Cariboo—Prince George.

In that capacity, Kempling wrote another letter to the editor criticizing the recently proposed Bill C-38, the Civil Marriage Act, which allowed same-sex couples to marry.

Quesnel School District suspended him for three months as a breach of its earlier direction.

Leave to appeal the Court of Appeal's ruling to the Supreme Court of Canada was denied in January, 2006.

On 28 January 2008, Kempling was cited again by the BCCT for "conduct unbecoming a teacher."