September 15, 2015

Statement from Archbishop Richard Smith re ECS inclusivity policies

Archbishop Richard Smith is currently attending meetings of the Canadian Catholic Bishops in Cornwall, and
provided the following statement following tonights meeting of the Edmonton Catholic School District
board of trustees. He will not be commenting any further at this time.

The Council of Catholic School Superintendents of Alberta (CCSSA) has approved a resource document
intended to assist Catholic school divisions in formulating policies and procedures to address the needs of
students around gender identity and expression. It is a working document developed in collaboration with
the Bishops of Alberta, and it has been forwarded to the Alberta Catholic School Trustees Association and
other educational stakeholders.
I know from my own visits to schools across the Archdiocese of Edmonton that our Catholic teachers and
administrators deal very ably with a wide variety of unique situations each and every day. I know also that
they strive always to follow the Churchs teaching that each individual person is created and loved by God,
and therefore must be treated with dignity and respect. The work of the superintendents group is informed
by faith, by sensitivity, by careful research, and by frontline experience.
I encourage the trustees of the Edmonton Catholic School District, and all Catholic trustees, to consider the
CCSSA resources in the drafting of any respective district policy.

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Lorraine Turchansky, Director, Communications & Public Relations

communications@caedm.ca | office 780-392-2456 | cel 780-915-6045