Catholic teachers asking for transfers, says Yukon union

The Yukon Teachers' Association says many teachers at Vanier Catholic Secondary School have asked to be transferred and it’s urging the education department to investigate how the school is being managed.

Katherine Mackwood, president of the Yukon Teachers' Association, said about 10 teachers, including Catholics, asked for transfers from Vanier last year and even more are looking to leave now.

"I am aware that there are a significant number seeking to leave the school because of the change of vision, or direction," she said.

The school has been the focus of controversy recently over its church-based policy on homosexual students.

Mackwood said discrimination against gay students is just the tip of the iceberg and that morale has plummeted since Yukon’s bishop, Gary Gordon, began directing Vanier's policies a few years ago. 

"This doctrine over the pastoral aspect of the church has never been discussed with the present staff, so this doesn't sit right with the existing staff that has been there to build the school," she said.

"To put it bluntly, this is not what they signed up for."

She said Vanier has gone from being the pride of Yukon schools to one where teachers are clamouring to get out.

"There needs to be an examination of what has happened to that once vibrant leader of a school," she said.

Education minister Scott Kent has told the bishop Vanier's policies must follow Yukon human rights laws. Gordon has not returned calls from the CBC.