Egale stalled

The Gay and Lesbian Educators of BC (GALE) sent an open letter to Egale executive director Helen Kennedy Oct 29 requesting the refund of $1,000 it donated to Egale for a national survey of queer students.

But after speaking with Kennedy, spokesperson Steve LeBel issued a letter of retraction saying GALE had been under the impression that Egale wasn’t going to run the survey at all.

The survey was initially supposed to be launched six months ago. Kennedy says it was postponed because Egale wanted to put it through an ethics review. She says that process is now complete.

GALE’s donation is in the bank and earning interest, Kennedy says, adding Egale is still raising funds for the survey, which she estimates will cost $60,000 in total.

“[Kennedy] assures me it will be launched before the end of the calendar year,” says LeBel. “That’s all I know and that’s all I care about because our money was to go to that.”

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