Anti-Bullying bylaw proposed

Times Contributor

 

Strathmore administration indicated they received a letter from Carla Masciangelo, requesting council draft an Anti-Bullying bylaw. She included information of bylaws drafted in other Alberta Towns like Hanna, Grand Prairie and Edson.

“Recent research done by the Canadian Institute of Health, shows that up to 47 per cent of Canadian parents report their child as a victim of bullying. Among adult Canadians, 38 per cent of males and 30 per cent of females report having an occasional experience with bullying during their school years. This is a major, major issue across our Country and I realize it is only a bylaw, but it is a tool the police could use to deal with this issue,” said Councillor Bob Sobol.

Masciangelo’s daughter Jayde bravely came before council and stated that her bullying experience may not have happened if Strathmore had a bylaw in place.

Council discussed where the bylaw could be enforced, whether it should be designated to one premise or the whole town. It was considered that details of the bylaw could be discussed in council when the draft is brought back for review.

Council unanimously voted to instruct administration to create a Community Standards Bylaw that includes an anti-bullying section within that bylaw, and bring it back to council for approval.

For anyone who needs help with a bully incident, there is a Bullying Prevention Helpline, available toll-free 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 1-888-456-2323. There is www.B-free.ca  website developed by youth with tips for coping with bullying.

The Alberta Government website offers lots of resources for anti-bullying information. They drafted an anti-bullying legislation last October that is part of the Education Act. It is in development, and response from the public has been that the terms of punishment, enforcement and responsibility are not clear.

The Canadian government is working on Bill C273 which deals with Cyber bullying. It is has been in Senate investigations since 2011. The Senate released their report called ‘Cyber bullying hurts: Respect for rights in the Digital Age’ in December and created two web documents about the topic. 

One for parents www.scribd.com/doc/116568800/CyberBullyingParentGuide  and one for youth www.scribd.com/doc/116568774/Cyber-bullying-youth-guide

For the Senate recommendations to the Canadian government see: www.parl.gc.ca/Content/SEN/Committee/411/RIDR/DPK/01Dec12/recommend-e.htm.