DRUG DOG WOULD DRIVE STUDENT FROM SCHOOL

A Porter Creek Secondary School student who suffers severe allergies
to animals would be forced to seek her high school education
elsewhere if the Canines for Safer Schools program brings a dog into
the building.

Yukon Supreme Court Justice Ron Veale heard that argument this morning.

The student's family is seeking an injunction which would prevent the
dog from coming into the school each day, as the family seeks a
judicial review of the Yukon Human Rights Commission decision against it.

The commission ruled last month the dog, Ebony, could come into the
school. After mediation in the matter failed last week, the case was
brought back to Yukon Supreme Court this morning.

The student's identity is protected under a publication ban.

Under the program, school resource officer Doug Green would bring
Ebony into the high school each day. It would be a way of deterring
students from bringing drugs to school and educating them on drugs
and other issues.

Sharleen Dumont, the lawyer for the student's family, told court the
student has been advised by doctors throughout her life to stay away
from animals because of serious allergies.

They have caused hives, swelling and itching on occasions when she's
come into contact with animals.

Told the allergies could become more serious to the point of being
fatal, the student carries an EpiPen with her in case of shock.

She would not attend the school if the dog was there, Dumont told the court.

"They're not trying to stop the program," Dumont said of the student's family.

The family had proposed the dog come in on occasion to sniff lockers,
with a warning given so the student could stay away from the school
at those times.

Random checks once a week would "severely" dilute the effectiveness
of the program, Richard Buchan, the lawyer for Porter Creek's school
council, said during his submissions.

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms also requires that for a
search of lockers to take place, there has to be reasonable cause, Buchan said.

Dumont focused on the hardship the student would face by essentially
being chased out of the school she has attended since Grade 8, by a dog.

Both Buchan and Porter Creek Secondary School lawyer Penelope Gawn
focused their attention on the damage it would cause to other
students in the school if the program was not started.

"This is an emergency," Buchan said of the students at the school
being exposed to drugs every day.

While other measures have been taken at the school to deter students
from drug use, they haven't been successful. Evidence from other
programs in Alberta show the new program could be successful with the dog.

"Canines for safer schools is definitely a measure for the public
good," Buchan said.

Gawn noted the protocol for the initiative sets out ways to deal with
allergies by not having the animal in classrooms with those allergic
to dogs and having the students avoid the dog in the hall.

"That is still the plan," she said, arguing the school doesn't want
the student to leave and that with the protocol, the student won't have to.

"That's her choice," Gawn said.

Buchan argued that any hardship the student might experience by
switching schools could be addressed.

He noted that if she's involved in sports at Porter Creek, for
instance, she could be involved in sports at another school she may attend.

The lawyer pointed out that a test for the allergy hasn't been
conducted yet, as was recommended in the human rights case.

Gawn and Buchan also pointed out the program was voluntarily put on
hold for a full school year to accommodate the student while the
matter was before the human rights commission.

To postpone it any further would be an undue hardship for the school
in addressing the drug problem, Gawn said. She pointed to the amount
of time those involved in the school have put into getting the
program in place.

The matter was set to continue this afternoon.