The Human Rights Commission will begin hearings into a discrimination case against the Newfoundland and Labrador English School District tomorrow.
Todd and Kim Churchill brought the complaint forward on behalf of their deaf son Carter. They have been advocating for his right to receive a proper education for over five years, which has cost thousands in legal fees.
Todd Churchill says this inquiry will be one of the biggest in the history of the province. He says this is the first time that a human rights hearing will be lived streamed, it’s also the first time that both the online and in-person hearings will be ASL interpreted for the deaf community.
(File Photo: Kim and Todd Churchill)
Churchill hopes that as a result of the hearings, Carter, who is going to Grade 6 this year, will finally get an education that is equitable to hearing children. He says it’s also about holding the NLESD accountable.
He says during his son’s first four years at Beachy Cove Elementary he was the only deaf child in the school. He says Carter had teachers with varying degrees of ASL training and was socially isolated from his peers.
Churchill is encouraging those who support deaf children, and the human rights of all people to attend the hearing or watch it online.
The hearing begins tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. at the Holiday Inn in St. John’s. It continues until Sept. 2nd, and again Sept. 6-9, 12, 13.
The hearing is open to the public and will be live-streamed.
