Way to go Marc Hall! This case has been pissing me off quite a bit since I first got word of it. I'm glad it's resolved and I'm glad Marc gets to go to his prom. Now, some might wonder why I would be such an ardent supporter of Marc when I too went to a private religious institution which utilizes the separation of church and state for much of its teachings. However, this particular case is an interesting one. Can one use that separation to defend their discrimination?
I argue (as does the Ontario courts), no. The religious education I received was protected under the Manitoba Schools Act and allowed for my institution to teach things outside of the standardized Manitoba curriculum. However, this does not give it license to violate the rights of its students simply because they have supposedly "chosen" the institution. Furthermore, few people I know of "choose" their orientation before they choose their school...