Alberta Premier Jim Prentice speaks at a political event in Ottawa March 6, 2015.BLAIR GABLE/Reuters
After fighting gay-straight alliances in schools for a year, Alberta's Progressive Conservative government has changed its mind.
Education Minister Gordon Dirks has told the house that the government will bring in an amendment to a bill that would allow the support groups in every school if students wanted them.
The alliances are peer-support groups for gay students that are meant to make them feel welcome and prevent them from being bullied.
Faith-based schools have fought gay-straight alliances and the issue divided the house in the last two sessions.
The Tories and the Wildrose voted down a non-binding resolution on the groups last spring, and last fall introduced a law that would have allowed gay-straight alliances off school grounds.
Premier Jim Prentice pulled the bill as criticism mounted.