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Frequently Asked Questions and their Answers
Q1: Roman Catholics in Ontario pay for their own school system. Doesn't that make them entitled to it?
Q2: The cost of the duplication in our school system isn't that much, is it?
Q3: If you have a positive alternative for the school system, why not concentrate on promoting that, rather than attacking what already exists? Your approach seems pretty divisive.
Q4: I'll grant you that the current Ontario school system is discriminatory. Didn't the last government take a meaningful step towards equality with the Equity in Education Tax Credit?
Q5: Can a separate school board legally discriminate in admissions?
Q6: I've heard that non-Catholic teachers are essentially persona non grata when it comes to consideration for employment in the separate school system. Is that true?
Q7: Are you affiliated with any political party?
Q8: Are you affiliated with any religious group?
Q9: What can I do to help further your objectives? How can I help out?
Q1: Roman Catholics in Ontario pay for their own school system. Doesn't that make them entitled to it?
A1: It is not uncommon to run across Ontarians who believe this to be true. Let us shatter that myth right here and now: they do not pay for their own school system. It costs roughly $7700 per child per year to educate a child in the either the Ottawa public or separate board (2004-05 projections). The total amount contributed towards education by a typical family through provincial and municipal taxes comes nowhere close to covering the actual cost. People without children, people whose children have completed school, and businesses pay much of the cost of educating our children. Everyone benefits from an educated population and everyone pays according to their means.
The declaration of school support (public or separate) on property tax bills is nothing more than a bureaucratic sleight of hand. It still succeeds in leading some Ontarians to believe that Ontario Catholics actually pay for the additional publicly funded educational opportunities available to them alone. The fact is, Catholics and non-Catholics in Ontario carry exactly the same tax burden, but Catholics are guaranteed two educational choices for their money (public and/or separate school; many families use both) while non-Catholics, who make up two-thirds of Ontario's population, are guaranteed only one choice (public school). It wasn't any different when the school boards had direct taxation powers; the tax burden for supporters of either system was essentially the same, but the availability of choices and opportunities was not.
In Ottawa, the local separate school board has actually taken to placing advertisements in local newspapers urging Catholics to make sure they are identified as separate school supporters on local tax rolls. As all school funding is now distributed by the province on a per capita basis, such advertising can have no other purpose than the political purpose of maintaining the illusion that the Ontario Catholics actually pay for their special privileges. They made no attempt to conceal their intent:
"When you designate yourself as a separate school supporter, there is no longer a financial benefit to our Board. Rather, your designation guarantees a strong political voice through your elected representatives (Trustees) in ensuring your rights to a Catholic education for the young people in our province." - Advertisement in the Ottawa Citizen, June 2003
It is disconcerting to think that they probably used taxpayer money to pay for this advertisement; money that should have been spent in the classroom. Other separate school boards have mounted similar campaigns. Please send us the details of any such campaign you discover.
Some separate school boards have gone to even greater lengths than advertising in the effort to sign up supporters to maintain the appearance of strong support. In a 1994 complaint brought before the Information and Privacy Commissioner for Ontario, it was revealed that an unnamed separate board was scanning local tax rolls in an effort to find Catholic ratepayers who supported the public board. According to the separate board in question, they were not soliciting support "per se", but were only seeking to "inform Catholic ratepayers of their rights". How helpful of them. The complaint was brought by a Catholic woman supporting the public board. In its report on Investigation I94-040M, the Commissioner decided that the separate board was acting within its rights in its use of the personal information on municipal tax rolls. It would be interesting to know the extent to which separate school boards are still redirecting educational dollars toward such self-preservation activities. Please let us know of any such activities you become aware of.
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Q2: The cost of the duplication in our school system isn't that much, is it?
A2: The costs are enormous, but it is hard to fully quantify them as no Ontario government has ever had the political courage to commission a study tallying the cost. The existence of such a study would force the Ontario Government to deal with the problem. Still, in the absence of such a study, let's consider the costs.
In Ontario, two school systems serve the same geographic area. One financial consequence of that stems from the fact that the catchment area for every school in the province, public or separate, is larger than it would have to be in a single system. Have a look at the Ottawa busing situation. The general commentary applies province-wide.
Another financial consequence of the duplication in Ontario's school system is that the deployment of educational facilities is not nearly as optimal for service delivery as it would be in a single system. How many Ontarians have witnessed the construction of public and separate schools within a stone's throw of each other? This occurs with alarming frequency throughout Ontario. That simply would not happen in a single system, resulting in fewer students being bused and shorter average commutes for all.
The costs of our duplicate system are further compounded through the duplication of administration and services. How much does it cost to operate two administrative bureaucracies and to duplicate the depots, education centres, and other facilities operated by a typical school board?
In addition to all of the direct costs of duplication in our school system, there is the issue of opportunity cost. What is the opportunity cost of missing out on the economies of scale a single school board can bring? A single school board serving a given population is a larger consumer than two separate school boards serving the same population. Just as a large business is able to buy supplies at a lower unit cost than its smaller competitor, a larger school board has more buying clout than its smaller counterparts. How much does the loss of economies of scale cost the Ontario taxpayer? How much could we improve the quality of education for all of Ontario's children if we reinvested currently wasted dollars in the classroom?
The opportunity cost of any government waste extends beyond the department if afflicts. How many lives could be saved if the waste in our school system was recouped by the health care system? How could the plights of the sick and the destitute be improved? The thing about opportunity cost is you never really know what you missed out on; you can only speculate. Governments that are complacent in the face of inexcusable waste squander an opportunity to change lives for the better.
It is interesting to note that when the Canadian government unsuccessfully defended discrimination in the Ontario school system before the UN Human Rights Committee in November, 1999 (Waldman v Canada), they argued, presumably with the agreement of Ontario, that extending the right to separate schools to other religions would likely lead "to increased public school closings and to the reduction of the range of programs and services a public system can afford to offer." Counsel for the complainant noted that the State party "acknowledges that the public school system in Ontario would have greater resources if the Government would cease funding any religious schools." The point Canada was raising was that duplication costs and costs increase as duplication increases. We couldn't have said it better ourselves.
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Q3: If you have a positive alternative for the school system, why not concentrate on promoting that, rather than attacking what already exists? Your approach seems pretty divisive.
A3: Segregation is divisive by definition. Unequal rights foster further division. Let's not confuse cause and effect. The causes of division in our school system are segregation and unequal education rights, which in turn give rise to waste and discrimination.
Discrimination will always stir opposition, especially in societies purporting to value the equality of individuals. The desire for equality with one's fellow man is universal; it pervaded the thinking behind the national and international human rights instruments that defined late 20th century human rights norms. All of the world's great religions support the notion of the essential equality of people. Except in the most extreme of circumstances for the protection of the most disadvantaged or endangered groups, discrimination is inherently wrong. Roman Catholics in Ontario cannot claim to be disadvantaged in any way. They are the largest religious minority in the province by a large margin and are arguably the least in need of protection.
An essential part of our positive alternative for the Ontario school system is the elimination of discrimination. That would demonstrate to our children that "equality before and under the law" is more than just a hollow phrase. It would show them that protection from discrimination is more than just a lofty ideal; it is a national and provincial practice. We will continue to promote the elimination of discrimination as an essential element of our positive alternative; the establishment of a single, strong, discrimination-free school system that is a responsible steward of public resources.
Over more than a century, segregation and discrimination have become an entrenched part of the Ontario educational landscape. Segregation is the first thing new Ontarians notice about our school system; just before they hear about the attendant discrimination. It is unfortunate that many Ontarians have have become resigned to discrimination and waste in our school system as the Ontario way. We refuse to accept that. Educational reform is long overdue.
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Q4: I'll grant you that the current Ontario school system is discriminatory. Didn't the last government take a meaningful step towards equality with the Equity in Education Tax Credit?
A4: The Equity in Education Tax Credit was no doubt introduced as a direct result of the unfavourable judgment against Ontario issued by the UN Human Rights Committee in November, 1999 (Waldman v Canada). It was an attempt by the previous government to address the discrimination in Ontario's school system. It fell far short in terms of its sufficiency as a remedy to that discrimination.
The Tax Credit would have eventually paid up to $3500 per child per year to parents opting out of the public school system by sending their children to a private school. They would have been required to pay the full tuition themselves and file for the Tax Credit the following year. In the meantime, parents of children in the separate school system would have continued to enjoy government support to the tune of about $7700 (2004-05 Ottawa separate board) per child per year prepaid. This hardly represents fairness and equity. Such a system would represent a full-voucher for Ontario Catholics and a half-voucher for everyone else; the other two-thirds of the Ontario population. While it would have alleviated the discrimination slightly, it would not have come close to eliminating it. All of Ontario's children are entitled to equal benefit under the law. We intend to see that that happens.
Ontario's current Liberal government quickly demonstrated just how fragile and fleeting the previous government's tax credit could be upon taking office. While future governments might disagree on the merits of such a credit, at least with a single school system in place all Ontarians would be treated as equals with regard to its intended benefit. We see a single school system as a necessary prerequisite to a truly equitable school system, no matter what the future holds in terms of a private school tax credit.
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Q5: Can a separate school board legally discriminate in admissions?
A5: All Ontarians contribute equally to the funding of separate schools through provincial taxation, irrespective of whether or not they elect to be identified as a separate school supporter on municipal tax rolls (see FAQ Q&A #1). You would think then, that all Ontarians would be equally entitled to attend those schools. You would be wrong if you did.
Separate school boards in Ontario regularly discriminate against non-Catholic Ontarians (two-thirds of the population, 2001 Census) in admissions. At the elementary school level, separate school boards have absolute control over the denominational aspects of education. The religion of you or your child is considered by the Ministry of Education to be a denominational aspect of education that separate boards may control. If you are not a Catholic, you have no right to admission.
The situation with secondary schools is quite different. There, "open access" applies and public school supporters must be admitted to the separate school in their area upon request. In practice, this "open access" begins at grade 9 (Ottawa-Carleton Catholic School Board). Be wary of entrance interviews for new students at the secondary school level. One usually expects that an interview has two possible outcomes: acceptance or rejection. In this case, rejection is not an option, but the interview serves to suggest that it is and discourages some from even applying.
Getting the answer to this question was an interesting exercise. The Ministry staff person handling our inquiry was very careful to avoid straightforward and direct answers, instead preferring to quote prepared letters from Ministry legal staff. When asked to further amplify one answer, our inquirer was told "I can only repeat the comments from our legal staff, which I believe answers your question." It appears that when defending the morally indefensible, or even when just answering questions about it, you have to be very careful about what you say. Lawyers are a must.
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Q6: I've heard that non-Catholic teachers are essentially persona non grata when it comes to consideration for employment in the separate school system. Is that true?
A6: It is. Approximately one-third of the publicly funded teaching positions in the province of Ontario are essentially closed to non-Catholic teachers. The right of separate schools to practice religious discrimination in hiring stems from their right to control the denominational aspects of education in separate schools. The religion of a candidate for employment was affirmed by Ontario courts (Re Daly et al. and Attorney General of Ontario; Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association et al. December 17, 1997) as a denominational aspect of education that separate schools can control.
Among our supporters is a growing list of recent teacher graduates who discover (much to their surprise) that the separate school system can actually get away with such blatant discrimination in the 21st century. Their right to do so is protected by a 19th century constitutional provision that prevents the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms from having legal effect. Some of these teacher graduates are even devout Christians who wished to take an elective course on teaching religion in school, but were turned away even from the course as they were told only Catholics could be hired at Catholic schools. See for yourself (as of Nov. 6/04). Go to the Permanent Teaching section of the Ottawa-Carleton Catholic School Board web site. There you will be greeted by both a declaration stating that they are "An Equal Opportunity Employer" and a stipulation that:
"All applicants must also submit a pastoral letter of reference from a parish priest attesting to being a practicing Catholic."
The checklist for a complete job application includes:
"3. Current Pastoral letter from a priest attesting to the fact that you are a practicing Roman Catholic (Board Policy states that the Board shall only consider teachers of the Roman Catholic faith for employment as a permanent teacher)"
For principals and vice-principals, the requirements are even more stringent. Your letter had better not be more than a year old:
"Applicants must include letters of reference and a current pastoral letter (within the last 12 months) attesting to being a practicing Roman Catholic."
This is the situation the province over. Some boards also require the submission of a "faith portfolio" by applicants; effectively a resume of their activities in the Catholic Church community.
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A7: Are you affiliated with any political party?
A7: We draw our support from across the political spectrum. Our members and supporters include members and supporters of all three major Ontario political parties. We truly reflect the diversity of Ontario society. We come from all racial, ethnic, and religious backgrounds.
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Q8: Are you affiliated with any religious group?
A8: No. Our members come from a variety of religious backgrounds, including Roman Catholic.
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Q9: What can I do to help further your objectives? How can I help out?
A9: There are many things you can do to help:
- Sign our petition and encourage others to do the same!
- Declare your support for our objectives. As an Ontario voter, your voice will be instrumental in putting an end to the waste and discrimination endured by Ontarians for far too long.
- Join our organization as a member.
- Tell your family, friends, and others about our initiative. Encourage them to sign up as supporters and members.
- Write letters to politicians, the print media, human rights organizations, and religious leaders. The Letters section of our web site offers points to consider when writing letters on this issue.
- Volunteer. This initiative is a big undertaking and there is a lot of work to do in spreading our message of equality and fiscal responsibility across the province. Can you spare some time surfing the web or writing letters? Do you have ideas to share? We welcome your assistance.
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