TWO-DECADE-OLD NARCOTICS CHARGE HAUNTS LOCAL DAD

At a time when many organizations are pleading for volunteers, Mark
Gatza has been told by the principal at his children's elementary
school that his free help is no longer wanted. Four days into his
position as co-coach of Burlington's St. Patrick's Pythons boys'
basketball team, Gatza was informed by principal Anthony Scarfone that
a criminal record check showed a conviction for a 1982 narcotics
possession and, therefore, his services were no longer needed.

"I just can't fathom it," the 42-year-old Gatza said Monday. "I have
nothing to hide. I got caught smoking a joint 23 years ago. I guess I
can't do anything at the school.

"I have to laugh, what can I say. Something's got to change. Give your
head a shake," he said of the situation.

Gatza feels it's unfair that an indiscretion committed in 1982, when
he was 19, and for which he paid a $100 fine, should carry such a
lasting impact.

The family supplied the Post with a copy of a Halton Regional Police
security clearance check form. It states that Mark Gatza has a
conviction for narcotics possession dating back to November 1982; it
also states that he does not have any criminal charges pending. The
form shows that the criminal background check was requested by the
Burlington Minor Football Association. Gatza was accepted as an
assistant coach with the BMFA's tyke Stampeders tackle rep football
team and held that position for the 2004 season.

He was supposed to coach his 10-year-old son, Jack, at St. Patrick's,
with help from a fellow parent volunteer. The two men put their names
forward, said Gatza, because no teachers took on the hoops team this
season.

At the school on Jan. 14, Gatza said Scarfone told him he had to stop
coaching, citing his past criminal record. The other parent is
handling coaching duties with help from the principal, said Gatza, who
still speaks to the other father on the phone about practices and game
strategy. The team's season began yesterday (Tuesday).

Gatza's father, Eugene, coaches the St. Patrick's girls' basketball
team, on which Mark's Grade 8 daughter, Alexandra, plays.

Scarfone refused to comment on the removal of Mark Gatza as a coach,
referring questions to his immediate supervisor, the assistant
superintendent of education for Burlington's Catholic schools, Gary
Mahoney.

"I think everyone has empathy for any parent who wants to be an
involved part of their child's education," said Mahoney. "No one would
feel happy or comfortable about having to exclude, even temporarily,
someone with that kind of an inclination.

"However, the fact is those are the kind of decisions that principals
do have to make and they are making them, I think, in good conscience
and according to the best advice they can get."

That advice would include what Mahoney says is found in a
board-provided handbook. He noted the Halton public and Catholic
boards jointly produced a written guide a few years ago to deal with
volunteers and similar situations.

In the end, said Mahoney, it still comes down to the principal having
the final say about whether an individual is accepted as a school volunteer.

"The moment the principal decides to don the mantle of judgment here
and decides they are going to start discriminating among cases, I
think essentially they are wandering into territory they may not have
much background in. It may suggest that the kind of information they
are getting is not sufficient to make some of those decisions.

Mahoney said terms like 'narcotics' and 'theft' on a criminal
reference form is open to interpretation and leaves the principal
relying on the person with the criminal record to be honest about the
circumstances.

"You're going to have a community that is going to be at all different
places on the continuum some saying, 'Yes, we understand the
circumstance,' and I believe a lot of folks do. However, they are also
going to say, 'well if the availability to participate (volunteer)
comes at the cost of a pardon,' that may seem entirely reasonable to
them."

Paragraph 5. (1) of the Ontario Human Rights Code states, "Every
person has a right to equal treatment with respect to employment
without discrimination because of race, ancestry, place of origin,
colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, sex, sexual orientation,
age, record of offences, marital status, same-sex partnership status,
family status or disability.

However, Diane, an inquiries representative at the Ontario Human
Rights Commission who did not want to give her last name, said a
person must have a pardon from Pardons Canada to be free from
discrimination pertaining to the record of offences item. She said the
need for a pardon is not written in the code but is a verbal direction
that is part of OHRC employees' training.

Getting a pardon is a long process.

The Pardons Canada Web site (www.pardons.org) notes that criminal
convictions are not automatically destroyed or sealed. The individual
must take steps and apply to have their record removed.

The site says it takes an average of 12-20 months for a pardon
application to be processed and granted. However, to prepare the
pardon application, many documents must be collected. Acquiring the
proper supporting documents can take between 3-9 months.

Gatza's plight and the general issue of volunteers in schools has
caught the attention of one Burlington Catholic school board trustee.

Bob Van de Vrande said he has talked with Jane Gatza, Mark's wife, and
is concerned about the situation and the bigger picture.

"My feeling at this point is the board needs to establish its own
policy," he said, stressing his observations are his only, not the
board's.

"What type of (criminal) record will disqualify someone for
participation? Obviously we are filtering out certain behaviours and
activity (but) we have to be fair in how we apply (any) policy."

Van de Vrande was to meet with Mahoney Tuesday to discuss Gatza's
dilemma and the overall issue. He said he will ask the assistant
superintendent to talk to Scarfone about reconsidering Gatza's
volunteer status. He said he'll also be asking trustees to direct
staff to develop re-wording for a formal board policy.