Human Rights A Day

Alberta teacher James Keegstra’s license revoked for racist teachings. James Keegstra taught students at Eckville Junior-Senior High School in Alberta starting in 1968. In 1982, a parent objected to his teaching students that when Protestants ruled England, all was good, while Catholic rule was marked by drunkenness and atrocities. In fact, Keegstra went beyond that, teaching students that Jews were inherently evil and that the Holocaust was a hoax. On December 7, 1982, the school board voted to terminate his contract, prompting some students to launch a petition to reinstate Keegstra. The grade 12 student who started the petition said, “He teaches things like moral values. He’s against abortion. He’s a Christian. He believes the things that are in the Bible.” On October 11, 1983, Alberta’s education minister, David King, announced that he was revoking Keegstra’s teaching certificate, following the recommendation of the Alberta Teachers Association. In 1985, Justice McKenzie of Alberta’s Court of Queen’s Ben