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News Release
For immediate release
Tory education plan would hurt public education, divide society
OTTAWA, June 21, 2007 - The Ontario Progressive Conservative Party’s religious school funding proposal would seriously undermine the public education system by compounding the duplication penalty already borne by the taxpayer in funding a parallel Catholic system, say the directors of Education Equality in Ontario.
“To compensate for diminished economies of scale and inefficiencies arising from smaller and more geographically distributed student populations, English Catholic school boards generally receive hundreds of dollars per pupil per year more than their coterminous English public boards”, said president Leonard Baak. “French boards receive thousands of dollars per pupil more than English boards for the same reasons.”
“The Tory funding scheme would see the creation of many more publicly funded religious schools serving far flung student populations with attendance zones overlapping those of the schools in the existing four systems”, said Baak. “The cost of that additional redundancy will be enormous,” Baak said, “with the per pupil costs of these minority faith schools easily outstripping those of schools in the existing four systems.”
Director Geraint Jones pointed out that even Liberal estimates of the cost of the Tory proposal likely understate the real cost. “The Liberals have said that if you bring the 53,000 students currently in private religious schools into the public system at the provincial average per pupil funding, the additional costs would total nearly half a billion dollars,” said Jones, “but that assumes that the removal of the tuition cost barrier for private religious schools would not promote a further exodus from the public system to new types of segregated schools.” “It also assumes that the per pupil costs of the new schools would be no greater than for schools in the existing public systems”, said Jones, “which is a totally unrealistic expectation given their smaller constituencies.”
“The loss of economies of scale and the diminished student population densities that would result from the Tory plan would also result in higher costs for the current four systems,” said Jones, “exacerbating their funding issues.” “The Tory plan is fiscally irresponsible and will, at the very least, eat up all of the new funding he has promised to address the new inefficiencies that it brings”, said Mr. Jones.
The directors also pointed out that with a trend to more schools serving less and less dense student populations in overlapping jurisdictions, average bus commutes for all students will rise. “The existing duplication in the Ontario school system already sees thousands of students bussed right past their nearest publicly funded school to attend another publicly funded school”, said Mr. Baak, “and the Tory plan will only see more students in that situation for even longer commutes.” “Under a single school system,” said Baak, “average commuting distances would fall and more children would end up walking to school.” “By increasing the number of students who will require bussing and by increasing their average commuting distance, the Tory plan will have a negative impact on the environment and on student quality of life”, Baak said.
The creation of more segregated religious schools also raised concerns amongst the directors related to the creation of new divisions within Ontario society. “One of the strengths of our public system is that it brings Ontarians of all backgrounds together in an environment that fosters tolerance and mutual respect”, said Jones. “Segregation of children by faith, which is invariably accompanied by some degree of racial and ethnic segregation, will only undermine that mission”, said Mr. Jones.
Mr. Baak went further: “The religious school vested interests have put forward a very self-serving definition of ‘multiculturalism’ which suggests that we do not respect those of different backgrounds if we do not support segregated schools”. “We categorically reject that,” said Baak. “Multiculturalism should entail respectful and mutually enriching engagement,” Baak said, “not isolation and physically separate development.”
“The Tories have proposed a fundamentally different school system that will fundamentally change Ontario society”, said Jones, “and all Ontarians should consider the eventual consequences of their divisive proposal when voting this fall.”
The directors were also critical of the governing Liberals and the NDP. “As flawed as the Tory policy is”, said Mr. Baak, “at least the Tories recognize that something has to be done to address the discrimination against non-Catholic Ontarians in our school system. So does the Green party.”
“The Liberals and NDP recognize the costly and divisive nature of the Tory proposals”, said Baak, “but neither has been willing to recognize that continued Catholic school funding creates the very same cost and segregation issues that they criticise so freely in the Tory plan.” “To constructively and effectively counter the Tory proposals,” said Baak “they need to be proposing a single public school system.”
When censuring Canada for the religious discrimination in the Ontario school system in 1999, the UN Human Rights Committee stated that “the [International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights] does not oblige State parties to fund schools which are established on a religious basis”, but that if they chose to, they must fund all such schools without discrimination.
“Given that Ontario’s constitutional ‘obligation’ to fund Catholic schools can be removed very quickly, no party can rely upon it to excuse Catholic school funding”, said Mr. Jones. “The fact that Ontario has a time-honoured tradition of Catholic privilege is no reason for it to continue. Such logic would have never seen women receive the vote. All Ontarians deserve equal respect and consideration from a religiously neutral provincial government”, said Jones. “The way to provide that equal respect is not through increased segregation”, Jones said, “but through one school system.”
“The Tory proposal promises to make education and unjustifiable Catholic privilege central issues in the coming election”, Jones said, “and for that we need to thank them.” “On the other hand”, said Jones, “they have ensured that the stakes will be very high for our education system and for our society”. “We hope Ontarians weigh their options very carefully.”
About Education Equality in Ontario
Education Equality in Ontario is a non-governmental human rights organization and education advocacy group. We seek the elimination of religious discrimination and duplication in the Ontario school system through the establishment of a single publicly-funded school system for each official language (English and French).
Contact Information:
Education Equality in Ontario
P.O. Box 11117, Stn H
Ottawa, ON
K2H 7T8
Leonard Baak, President, leonard@OneSchoolSystem.org
Geraint Jones, Director, geraint@OneSchoolSystem.org
News Release
For immediate release
One school system group unveils province-wide campaign to engage parents.
Ottawa, February 19, 2007 -- Education Equality in Ontario today unveiled a province-wide campaign to engage parent groups and school councils in the initiative to eliminate religious discrimination and costly duplication in the Ontario school system. Education Equality in Ontario seeks the establishment of a single publicly-funded school system for each official language (English and French) and the elimination of publicly funded denominational school systems.
"Most of the parents involved with school councils and other education advocacy groups care deeply about the public school system and the quality of the education it delivers", said Education Equality in Ontario president Leonard Baak. "Ontario school boards are facing new financial crises every year", said Baak, "and the unnecessary duplication in the system is a significant contributor to the problem."
In a letter to be sent to all public school councils in the province, Mr. Baak appeals directly to school councils to participate in the "One Public School System for Ontario" petition campaign. In what they are calling their "10 by 10" plan, Education Equality in Ontario hopes to persuade school councils to find at least 10 people to collect at least 10 signatures each for the petition. Education Equality in Ontario and others will present the petition to the Ontario Legislature this spring.
"School councils in particular have a government mandated advisory role in which they are encouraged to comment on the policies affecting their children. They have a right to advise their principals and their boards on any matter. Through successive initiatives such as the Parent Voice in Education project and the new Provincial Parent Board, the current Ontario government has sought the input of parents in policy formation to an unprecedented degree", said Baak. "We want parents to respond. We want them to start advocating loudly for an end to the wasteful duplication that contributes to endless school board funding crises. Those crises threaten the existence of programs and facilities of great value to the communities they serve", said Baak.
In addition to pressuring the Ontario government to move to one school system, the group hopes the petition campaign will educate the Ontario public on the magnitude and the extent of the waste and discrimination in the current system. In particular, they hope to counter some widespread myths and misconceptions. "We want to open people's eyes to the truth concerning separate schools in Ontario" said Baak, "and the petition was designed to do just that." The petition and an accompanying explanatory document are available online at:
The "One Public School System for Ontario" Petition
Point by Point: The "One Public School System for Ontario" Petition
Education Equality in Ontario is hopeful that their letter campaign will prompt the creation of new one school system lobby groups in other Ontario cities. Mr. Baak's letter to school councils contained an invitation to form such new groups. "We want more Ontarians to speak out against the discrimination and waste in our school system and to do it from more places," said Mr. Baak. Letters have already been mailed to school councils in the following school boards:
Avon Maitland District School Board (Seaforth)
Bluewater District School Board (Chesley)
Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board (Brantford)
District School Board of Niagara (St. Catharines)
Grand Erie District School Board (Brantford)
Greater Essex County District School Board (Windsor)
Halton District School Board (Burlington)
Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (Hamilton)
Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board (Peterborough)
Lakehead District School Board (Thunder Bay)
Lambton Kent District School Board (Sarnia)
Limestone District School Board (Kingston)
Ottawa Carleton District School Board (Ottawa)
Peel District School Board (Mississauga)
Rainbow District School Board (Sudbury)
Renfrew County District School Board (Pembroke)
Thames Valley District School Board (London)
Toronto District School Board (Toronto)
Upper Canada District School Board (Brockville)
Upper Grand District School Board (Guelph)
York Region District School Board (Aurora)
"The Ontario government can not justify the very costly and privileged treatment of single, non-disadvantaged faith group and they can no longer rely on an ancient constitutional 'obligation' to excuse inaction. More and more Ontarians know that 'obligation' can be removed very quickly," said Baak. "The Government must accept that the discrimination and waste in our school system continues only because they allow it to. They alone bear full responsibility for the discrimination in the system", said Baak, "and through their inaction on waste, they bear much of the responsibility for the cuts now hurting Ontario children."
The full text of the Education Equality in Ontario letter to school councils is available online at: http://www.oneschoolsystem.org/documents/Winter2007SchoolCouncilLetter.pdf.
About Education Equality in Ontario
Education Equality in Ontario is a non-governmental human rights organization and education advocacy group. We seek the elimination of religious discrimination and duplication in the Ontario school system through the establishment of a single publicly-funded school system for each official language (English and French).
Contact Information:
Education Equality in Ontario
P.O. Box 11117, Stn H
Ottawa, ON
K2H 7T8
Leonard Baak, President, leonard@OneSchoolSystem.org
News Release
For immediate release
Group calls for one school system to alleviate school board funding woes.
Ramada Inn on the Bay, Belleville, January 31, 2007 -- Education Equality in Ontario director Geraint Jones and president Leonard Baak today called upon the Ontario Government to put an end to the wasteful and unnecessary duplication in Ontario's publicly-funded school system. Specifically, they called for the creation of a single public school system for each official language (English and French). The call was made during the 2007 pre-budget consultations of the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs.
"Despite some funding improvements in recent years, too many Ontario school boards still face annual funding crises that threaten the viability or even the existence of programs and facilities of great value to the communities they serve. More than ever before, Ontario can no longer afford to operate parallel school systems", said Mr. Jones.
Mr. Jones described how in recent years declining enrolment in particular has put new financial pressures on school boards. Declining enrolment has led to an over-abundance of seriously under-enrolled schools that are less cost-effective to run than schools where enrolment comes closer to the school's design capacity. Declining enrolment also brings with it declining funding, which is tied to enrolment levels. School boards that have failed to reconcile the drop in their enrolments with the number of pupil places in their schools have suffered a double-whammy: fewer dollars to fund schools with increasingly less cost-effective enrolment levels. The effects of such governance decisions are now being felt in classrooms across the province. Minister of Education Kathleen Wynne and an increasing number of trustees are now accepting that something will have to give; that it will not be possible to keep all of those under-enrolled schools open.
"Declining enrolment threatens the existence of hundreds of schools across the province; particularly in rural and northern communities and in many urban neighbourhoods", said Education Equality in Ontario president Leonard Baak. "Closing such schools often means leaving a community entirely without a school -- or at least without one that is open to all without discrimination. We sympathize with trustees who wished to spare their communities a school closing, but it is no longer acceptable to prevent school closings by adding to already enormous maintenance backlogs or by making further cuts in the classroom. The system is breaking down", said Baak.
In his presentation, Mr. Jones indicated that a move to one school system province-wide would do much to resolve the problems posed by declining enrolment. "One school system will allow school boards to rationalize their inventory of seriously under-enrolled schools in a manner that minimizes the impact to the communities they serve. By merging under-enrolled public and separate schools in communities having both, many communities now facing the total loss of their school will be spared that eventuality. Such merged schools will operate more cost-effectively than those they replaced and create opportunities for school boards to divest themselves of their older, more expensive to maintain properties", said Jones.
The Education Equality in Ontario presentation also pointed out that a move to one school system would put an end to the religious discrimination in the Ontario school system -- discrimination that places Ontario in violation of its international human rights obligations. Canada was censured for that discrimination by the UN Human Rights Committee in 1999 and again in 2005. "Ontario's constitutional 'obligation' to fund Roman Catholic separate schools is largely illusory", said Jones. "That 'obligation' can be removed very quickly or can even be ignored. The discrimination and waste in our school system continues only because the Ontario Government chooses to do nothing about it", said Jones.
In closing, Mr. Jones acknowledged that "One school system will not, by itself, resolve all of the funding difficulties facing our school system. It will, however, realize savings that will facilitate a significant and permanent injection of funds into the classroom, where they will benefit all students and eventually our economy." Jones added "Ontarians should not have to wait any longer for fairness and fiscal responsibility in our school system."
The full text of the Education Equality in Ontario presentation is available online at: http://www.oneschoolsystem.org/documents/Finance2007.pdf.
About Education Equality in Ontario
Education Equality in Ontario is a non-governmental human rights organization and education advocacy group. We seek the elimination of religious discrimination and duplication in the Ontario school system through the establishment of a single publicly-funded school system for each official language (English and French).
Contact Information:
Education Equality in Ontario
P.O. Box 11117, Stn H
Ottawa, ON
K2H 7T8
Geraint Jones, Director, geraint@OneSchoolSystem.org
News Release
For immediate release
Education Equality in Ontario joins petition campaign to push for one school system.
Ottawa, September 27, 2006 -- Education Equality in Ontario announced today that they have joined a petition campaign to push for a single publicly-funded school system for each official language (English and French). The petition, which was developed in cooperation with individual citizens and members of organizations from across Ontario, was posted online this week at http://www.oneschoolsystem.org/petition.html.
Education Equality in Ontario president Leonard Baak explained that "This petition can be undertaken as either a personal or a group initiative by anyone interested in helping to promote the merger of Ontario's public and separate school systems." "We hope that as we progress into fall, we'll see both new and existing organizations join us in the push for one system", said Baak. Mr. Baak explained that expanding the one system initiative into other Ontario cities through the establishment of new, like-minded organizations is one of his organization's key goals for the year.
The petition and accompanying document take direct aim at some popular beliefs, one of the most common being that Ontario Catholics pay for their own school system. "Ontario Catholics bear the same tax burden as any other group of Ontarians, but enjoy more publicly-funded options in education and related employment than anyone else in the province," said Mr. Baak. "The declaration of school support no longer has any effect on a school board's total funding", said Baak, "but even if it did, the fact remains that we are all taxed at the same rates, but some of us receive more than others in return." School board funding in Ontario today is ultimately determined based on enrolment and other documented needs.
The explanatory document accompanying the petition also explained that responsibility for the continuation of the status quo lay with the Ontario Government. The Ontario Government has at their disposal a constitutional mechanism that would allow them to rescind denominational school rights through a simple bilateral agreement with the Federal Government alone. It was through such an agreement that both Quebec and Newfoundland rescinded denominational school rights in the 1990s, before reorganizing their public school systems along linguistic lines. Both provinces now support only English and French public school systems, which is the model that Education Equality in Ontario would like Ontario to emulate.
"The Ontario Government routinely cites a constitutional 'obligation' to justify the continuation of discrimination and waste in our school system", said Baak, "but that 'obligation' is largely illusory, as it can be removed with blinding speed."
"Let's be clear. Ontario does not discriminate against two-thirds of its citizens because it has to", said Baak, "they discriminate because they choose to."
"A move to one system would fully address the discrimination and remove a financial millstone that undermines the academic potential of all public school children", said Baak. "In an era of perennial funding crises, its time the Government got on with the job."
Both the petition and accompanying document are available online at http://www.oneschoolsystem.org/petition.html.
About Education Equality in Ontario
Education Equality in Ontario is a non-governmental human rights organization and education advocacy group. We seek the elimination of religious discrimination and duplication in the Ontario school system through the establishment of a single publicly-funded school system for each official language (English and French).
Contact Information:
Education Equality in Ontario
P.O. Box 11117, Stn H
Ottawa, ON
K2H 7T8
Leonard Baak, President, leonard@OneSchoolSystem.org
Thomas Layer, Chairman, thomas@OneSchoolSystem.org
News Release
For immediate release
Bill 107 ignores the obvious discrimination in Ontario schools
Delta Ottawa Hotel & Suites, Ottawa, August 9, 2006 -- Education Equality in Ontario President Leonard Baak and Chairman Thomas Layer today called upon the Ontario Government to put an end to the long standing religious discrimination in the Ontario school system by moving towards a single publicly-funded school system for each official language (English and French). The call was made at the Standing Committee on Justice Policy public hearings on Bill 107, Human Rights Code Amendment Act, 2006.
In their presentation, Education Equality in Ontario criticized Bill 107’s failure to address the indisputable reality of religious discrimination against non-Catholic Ontarians in publicly-funded school choice, religious school funding, and in the hiring of teachers in publicly-funded schools.
“Ontario violates a number of the human rights instruments to which Canada is a party by virtue of the religious discrimination in our school system”, said Mr. Baak. “The Progressive Conservative and Green parties have both recognized the untenable nature of that discrimination and it is time for the governing Liberals and the NDP to do the same”, Baak said.
In 1999, the UN Human Rights Committee found Canada in violation the equality provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by virtue of the religious discrimination in the Ontario school system. They renewed their condemnation of that discrimination in November 2005, on the occasion of Canada’s fifth periodic report on its implementation of the rights enumerated in the Covenant. Canada ratified the Covenant in 1976 with the consent of all provinces – including Ontario.
“The Ontario Human Rights Commission and the Ontario Government have made a great show of their efforts to create a truly effective human rights system for Ontarians,” said Mr. Baak, “but the reality is that they have missed the bus, at least within the context of our school system.”
“An effective human rights organization would not hesitate to criticize its sponsor government for failing to harmonize its legislation with the obligations contained in the international human rights instruments to which the State is a party”, said Baak, “Independence is of key importance. To our knowledge, the Ontario Human Rights Commission has never criticized the Ontario Government’s flagrant violation of fundamental equality rights within the context of our school system”.
“A human rights code reform is the perfect opportunity for a religiously neutral provincial government to establish the proper primacy of fundamental equality rights over non-fundamental denominational privilege”; Baak said, “whether or not they do so will reveal the true depth and sincerity of their commitment to human rights.”
The full text of the Education Equality in Ontario presentation is available online at: http://www.oneschoolsystem.org/documents/Bill107Presentation9Aug2006Web.pdf.
About Education Equality in Ontario
Education Equality in Ontario is a non-governmental human rights organization and education advocacy group. We seek the elimination of religious discrimination and duplication in the Ontario school system through the establishment of a single publicly-funded school system for each official language (English and French).
Contact Information:
Education Equality in Ontario
P.O. Box 11117, Stn H
Ottawa, ON
K2H 7T8
Leonard Baak, President, leonard@OneSchoolSystem.org
Thomas Layer, Chairman, thomas@OneSchoolSystem.org
News Release
For immediate release
Tory plan fails to address the problem
Ottawa, February 21, 2006 -- The Directors of Education Equality in Ontario met today to discuss the stated intention of Ontario Progressive Conservative leader John Tory to address the religious discrimination in the Ontario school system in the party's education platform.
"While his clear recognition of the unfair and discriminatory nature of religious school funding in Ontario is encouraging and laudable, Mr. Tory's apparent unwillingness to consider the elimination of publicly-funded denominational schools as part of the solution will doom his plan to failure," said Education Equality in Ontario President Leonard Baak. "As long as one group continues to enjoy full public funding, nothing less than a comparable level of funding for other groups can deliver true fairness and equality," said Mr. Baak. "Such funding is, of course, completely unaffordable and would only encourage further religious segregation of Ontario children," Baak said.
The Directors also took issue with the suggestion that the discrimination could be addressed by extending public funding to only religion-based public school alternatives. "Extending public funding to religious schools alone would merely trade one set of fairness issues for another," said Chairman Thomas Layer. "How could it be fair to fund private religious schools while not giving equal consideration to gender-specific, linguistic, or other private alternative schools?" Mr. Layer asked.
"Given his stated constraints, Mr. Tory has certainly carved out a challenge for himself and his party in crafting an equitable solution to the discrimination problem," said Mr. Baak. "That job would be a lot easier following a move to a single public system, when any support for public school alternatives would apply equally to all Ontarians. It would also realize savings that could be reinvested in education or in other equally deserving public priorities," Baak said.
About Education Equality in Ontario
Education Equality in Ontario is a non-governmental human rights organization and education advocacy group. We seek the elimination of religious discrimination and duplication in the Ontario school system through the establishment of a single publicly-funded school system for each official language (English and French).
Contact Information:
Education Equality in Ontario
P.O. Box 11117, Stn H
Ottawa, ON
K2H 7T8
Leonard Baak, President, leonard@OneSchoolSystem.org
Thomas Layer, Chairman, thomas@OneSchoolSystem.org
News Release
For immediate release
Education Equality in Ontario asks Ontario Government Committee to recommend one school system in Ontario
Cornwall, January 30, 2006 -- Citing religious discrimination and the costs of duplication as reasons, Education Equality in Ontario President Leonard Baak called upon the Ontario Government's Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs to recommend the merger of Ontario's public and separate school systems into a single public system for each official language (English and French). The call was made in a presentation to the Committee's pre-budget consultation hearings in Cornwall, Ontario on January 27th.
The uniqueness of publicly-funded school choice for the members of a single religious minority resulted in Canada being found in violation of its international human rights obligations by the UN Human Rights Committee in November 1999. Canada was censured again by that Committee in November 2005 for having failed to address that violation in the preceding six years. Only Ontario Roman Catholics enjoy the right to publicly-funded school choice. The right of Ontario separate school boards to discriminate against non-Catholic applicants is absolute before grade 9. Their right to discriminate against non-Catholic teachers in hiring and promotion is absolute at all levels. One third of the province's publicly-funded teaching positions are effectively closed to two-thirds of the population.
The duplication of educational services in overlapping jurisdictions represents a significant financial burden to the Ontario taxpayer. Overlapping jurisdictions ensure that all school boards in the province have lower enrolment and more dispersed schools than would be the case under a single system. The Ministry of Education and trustee representatives from all four Ontario school systems have recognized that such conditions necessitate higher funding for the Geographic Circumstances, Transportation, and Administration and Governance Grants. More dispersed schools also ensure that more Ontario students require busing and for greater distances. School bus emissions, and the duration of student exposure to them, were recently cited by the Ontario Public Health Association as a "significant public health concern."
"We want equality for our children and ourselves. We want to see better stewardship of the financial resources committed to the education of our children. One school system will address those concerns, and those of the UN." Mr. Baak said. The full text of the presentation is available online at http://www.oneschoolsystem.org/documents/StdCmteFinEcoAffrsSubmssn2006.pdf.
About Education Equality in Ontario
Education Equality in Ontario is a non-governmental human rights organization and education advocacy group. We seek the elimination of religious discrimination and duplication in the Ontario school system through the establishment of a single publicly-funded school system for each official language (English and French).
Contact Information:
Education Equality in Ontario
P.O. Box 11117, Stn H
Ottawa, ON
K2H 7T8
Leonard Baak, President, leonard@OneSchoolSystem.org
Copyright © 2007 Education Equality in Ontario. All Rights Reserved.
