Ness Lake Bible Camp asked School District 57 to reinstate its relationship after it finished developing a new discrimination policy.
"If we caused any hurt... we would apologize for that," said camp director Elliott Harder at Tuesday night's school board meeting. "We hope that your decision would be to continue using Ness Lake."
In June the board asked schools and staff to stop booking the camp for school field trips after complaints that the camp's policies contradicted the district's LGBTQ policy.
That same month Harder, who joined the camp in May, met with administration about the concerns.
"That was a devastating meeting for us, just something we never anticipated. We really took it to heart," said Harder.
The board's choice to halt bookings came after a student, who volunteered at camp on her personal time, was told she couldn't volunteer directly with campers because her visible support for the LGBTQ community didn't align with One Hope Canada Ministries beliefs and policies.
Last year PG Pride president Stacey Hewlett was told she couldn't speak about gender at a Rotary event at Ness Lake.
In an interview after the meeting Harder said what happened with the Rotary was a separate issue and the camp had never had problems with school events.
While the new discrimination and harassment prevention policy's language aligns with the district's LGBTQ policy, it isn't clear if it also extends to the bible camp's rental policy, which says teaching materials or activities can't conflict with One Hope's faith
"If, during the booking, any teaching material or program activity is deemed to be in conflict with Ness Lake Bible Camp's Mission Statement and Statement of Faith the group will be requested to vacate the premises immediately," the rental policy says.
Only the code of conduct, to be signed by staff and volunteers, explicitly referred to "premarital, extramarital, or homosexual relationships" as contrary to its biblical principles.
School District 57's policy says contractors "are expected to conduct themselves in accordance with the district's commitment to non-discrimination, human rights and cross-cultural understanding."
That district policy says spaces must be free of homophobic language and behaviour, which Harder assured trustees was the case. It doesn't explicitly say all school spaces must permit gender and sexuality inclusive discussions or learning material.
Asked whether similar teaching materials or discussions from school district staff would be permitted at camp, Harder said "I'm not sure, we'd have to chat with them about... The school district has never brought anything out like that."
Another camp member who refused to give his name said he didn't see a conflict in policies from the two organizations.
"We think Christians and LGBTQ can live together. We would ask others to be respectful of who we are," he said.
During his presentation Harder said One Hope has worked hard to address the district's concerns and also listened to community feedback.
"We learned a lot of things and I think we became better as a camp. It was ultimately the right thing to do," said Harder, adding the camp will always be a welcoming and respectful place to everyone. "This process has made us a better."
