B.C. school district cuts ties with summer camp over staff agreement that prohibits 'homosexual behaviour'

Another school district on Vancouver Island has cut ties with a popular Christian summer camp after a teenager spoke out against the organization's staff agreement, which prohibits "homosexual behaviour" and calls it a "sexual sin."

Cowichan Valley is the third school district to announce it will stop sending students to Camp Qwanoes in Crofton, B.C., after 16-year-old Duncan resident Ryland Racicot spoke to local media outlet The Discourse about the staff agreement. The Nanaimo-Ladysmith and Sooke school districts announced the same earlier this year. 

"This staff agreement goes against our values as a school district and is contrary to the Board of Education Policy 25: Identity, Belonging, and Connection, which calls for a community free of discrimination and marginalization," the district said in an email. 

Thousands of children attend Camp Qwanoes every year, many of them Vancouver Islanders as part of their school's field trip. All public schools in B.C. are required to adhere to the province's Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity policy in schools, which aims to reduce discrimination and harm towards LGBT students.  

Racicot told CBC News he attended Camp Qwanoes for five years and was thrilled to have been offered a position this spring as part of the camp's "step out" leadership program. But he was shocked and disappointed when he read through the staff agreement he was asked to sign before starting. 

"It just felt horrible," Racicot said. 

"I have my values and morals that I've been raised with and as soon as I read that contract I knew that was not the right thing."

The camp's staff standards, which CBC News has obtained, says staff are expected to "refrain from practices which are condemned by God in the Bible," including "sexual sins including premarital sex, adultery, homosexual behaviour, and viewing of pornography." 

'God loves everyone'

Racicot said he declined the camp's job offer because of the staff agreement, even though working there had been a long-term goal of his. 

He and his mother, Sylvia Webb, say they're practising Anglicans and condemning homosexuality is not part of their family values. 

"God loves everyone," Webb told CBC News. 

"We've always been affiliated with the LGBTQ+ community and it was never a question of, you know, Christianity means that you couldn't be gay. It just isn't like that for us. It's not the world that we live in."

In an email, Camp Qwanoes executive director Scott Bayley told CBC News that this summer the camp welcomed more than 4,100 children and youth for summer camps and leadership programs.

The camp doesn't conceal its Christian background, Bayley said, but doesn't include any religious content or programs when public school groups attend.

"Requiring staff to indicate their support of and agreement with our Christian beliefs as a condition for employment is allowed for and protected in Canada," he said. "Religious freedom is an important part of Canadian society."

'Creating change'

Camp Qwanoes welcomes all campers "regardless of backgrounds or beliefs," Bayley said. During his 34 years on staff, Bayley said, there has never been any complaints or incidents relating to LGBTQ equality.

The mother and her teenage son said they're pleased to hear about the Cowichan Valley School District's decision, along with the other two school districts, especially given the schools' vocal support and policies advocating for LGBT rights. 

"We're happy when we get news like that, we just feel like we're really creating change," Webb said.

"I'm really glad that our community has done this and taken these steps to protect LGBTQ youth."

Editors note:  This story has been updated to remove allegations that former campers were asked not to return or felt unwelcome after they disclosed their sexuality. CBC News was not able to verify those claims, which a camp representative has denied."