World National
©World National / Roger-Luc Chayer

Salvation Army protest goes to Canada

SUMMARY: What started as a protest against the homophobic policies of the Salvation Army by one PFLAG mom in Michigan and spread across the United States has now crossed the border into Canada.

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia -- What started as a protest against the homophobic policies of the Salvation Army by one PFLAG mom in Michigan and spread across the United States has now crossed the border into Canada.

A Halifax doctor has begun a similar campaign to put notes in the army's red kettles denouncing anti-gay policies in Atlantic Canada.

In the United States, Mary Scholl's PFLAG campaign protests the Salvationists refusal to grant benefits to the partners of gay and lesbian employees. The Salvation Army employs thousands of people called "civilians" who are not necessarily members of the faith but work for the agency.

In Canada, those workers are covered by federal and provincial laws that ban discrimination and recognize same-sex partnerships.

But, as Dr. James Tee discovered, the Salvation Army not only refuses to allow gays and lesbians to join, it denounces homosexuality in its publications.

Tee said, "I can't allow my money to go to an organization which discriminates against a whole entire sector of the population."

The 26-year-old resident in pediatrics said that for as long as he can remember, he and his family have contributed to the organization.

He said that up until now, he didn't bother looking into the background of agencies he was donating to.

Bob Fougere, coordinator of the Nova Scotia Rainbow Action Project, is also denouncing the Salvation Army policy on gays.

"First of all, their position on homosexuality, in my opinion, is not Christian," he said. "I'm a Christian. I go to a Christian church. I live in a very committed relationship and to suggest that I can't snuggle up in front of the TV with my partner and watch TV is not acceptable. It's not reasonable."

Fougere and his partner have set aside a budget for charitable giving, but it does not include the Salvation Army.

Dr. Tee says he believes in religious freedom, but he says that faiths that discriminate will no longer get his financial support. "There are tons and tons of organizations that have non-discriminatory clauses," he said.