New LGBTQ guidelines that have been put in place by the Ministry of Education will be followed by the Fort McMurray Catholic School District according to the chair of the school board. Tracy McKinnon gave an interview and stated that her board will incorporate the recommendations that have been made and meet the deadline of March 31 to pass a policy that is inclusive of the LGBTQ community. MCKinnon said “We are an inclusive school system. Have been, are, and will be always an inclusive school system.” The recommendations made include dress code flexibility, reducing gender segregated activities, and using preferred names on the report cards that students get. The issue of preferred or gender neutral washrooms is more controversial though. District Superintendent George McGuigan explained “We would have to look at (each case) individually, because it’s not just about that one individual. Its about the entire school.”

David Eggen, the man responsible for creating the LGBTQ guidelines that will be implemented by the Fort McMurray Catholic School District, explained the guidelines by saying “I believe that we’ve gone about the right way for this process. I mean, sometimes it can be ugly when people make — we saw some of the discussions that took place, either inside school board meetings or outside. But also, I think that we have a larger responsibility to providing that dialogue and that debate to come to a better outcome that we can all internalize in our hearts.” This is an issue that is still very controversial for some though, and this has been seen at recent meetings where community members voiced their displeasure over the new policies.