I appreciate your September 6th editorial regarding public funding for religious schools. As this has become a polarizing election issue we need editorials such as yours to help raise the level of consideration above the fund or don't fund question.

I became interested in provincial education system 2 years ago in reaction to 3 issues; school boards across the province were struggling to fulfill their mandates to provide balanced budgets, a local paper printed a letter from a parent saying it's unfair for the Catholic secondary school kids to have to be bussed to school in Peel, and- the straw that broke my back- my own public highschool kid did not have math homework because there weren't enough textbooks so they were only doing what could be done in class.

Clearly the public education system has funding problems. No one could credibly say that these problems can all be blamed on one issue. The provincial taxation and funding formula, as well as the perception that government funding is a bottomless money pit, are factors. However, the factor that is most striking to me is that we operate a completely separate system of education for Catholic people. Because it's not just a funding issue, it's a human rights and societal issue.

The RC Separate school system pre-dates confederation and is protected in the constitution under minority denomination education rights. Back then the public system in Ontario had a protestant bias as they were the majority denomination. Also, back then, if you weren't Catholic or Protestant you didn't count.

Now, the public school system is religion neutral and the system strives to meet the needs and be welcoming and inclusive of all people. But, the separate school system has held onto their Catholicism. Catholic elementary schools continue to deny enrolment to non- Catholic students, Catholic boards continue to consider a teacher's religious denomination when hiring or promoting staff, Catholic schools continue to preach, teach, and practice Catholicism.

Of course it is unfair to publicly fund this system for Catholic people and not similarly fund other religions. The 1999 United Nations ruling was that Ontario does not need to fund any religious schools- it even cited the mechanism, written into the Constitution, to amend the Constitution.

The ruling also said that if Ontario persists in funding a school system for Catholics then we must fund schools for other religions at the same level. Therein is the crux of the problem. In 2005 the UN again ruled us in violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights because we hadn't taken any steps to correct the problem.

It's a two step issue. First, the province needs to decide if it will fully fund completely separate systems for all religions under the public education umbrella, or if it will change the separate RC system. All religions must be treated equally to satisfy the UN ruling, so even the Progressive Conservatives pledge to fund religious schools but not form more separate boards does not fully comply.

The UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights is human rights treaty that was ratified by Canada on May 19, 1976 after the Federal government obtained the formal written approval of Ontario (and the other provinces). Ontario taxpayers cannot fund completely separate systems for all religions.

Just having the Catholic system in addition to the public system costs us hundreds of millions of dollars per year. So, we need to form one public school system that includes the Catholics. Quebec and Newfoundland faced these issues in the 1990's and they eliminated their separate systems. Alberta and Saskatchewan are the only other provinces that still have Catholic systems.

The second step is to determine if any alternative schools should receive any amount of public funding or if there is a better way to support diverse needs of our students within public schools.

This issue deserves research, discussion, and careful planning. The various provinces have developed various systems and it is exceedingly difficult to compare and evaluate. No election politicking should lead us into an ill advised and unconsidered hornets nest.

In Alberta, where there is still a Separate Catholic system, and other alternative schools receiving varying levels of funding, the cost per child per year is about $1000.00 more than in Ontario. Multiplied by the 2.1 million students in Ontario, that's an extra $2.1 billion for the taxpayers to fund annually. For that much money, let's make sure it's in the best interests of our students.

Paula Conning Coordinator, Orangeville and

Area Education Equality in

Ontario

Orangeville

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In reference to your editorial "Full debate needed on school funding issue" (6 September), I agree that full debate is needed.

It appears that the Liberals want the status quo (ie, secular and Roman Catholic public school systems in parallel), the Progressive Conservatives want separate schooling for all religions and the New Democrats refuse to take a position.

The third option - a single, secular school system for all (as, for example, in Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador) - is espoused by the Green Party, but the Green Party is excluded from all debates on this and all other election issues.

How can a "full debate" be held when one view is carefully excluded by both TV Ontario and the consortium of commercial television broadcasters (including CBC) for the official election debate broadcasts? It can't.

I hope that the Orangeville Citizen, at least, will expose to public view and debate the platforms of all four political parties.

Charles Hooker

Orangeville

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It is plain to see that an election is looming when we are promised many goodies by the combatants, all of which will be bought with our tax dollars. So, those new gifts will not come free of cost.

John Tory is promising to fund all faith-based schools, if elected, with, of course, our tax money, leaving a public school system with fewer of those dollars to conduct its responsibilities. He insists it is necessary to bring fairness to education, but it is a transparent ploy to win the votes of religious school operators.

At this time 67% of Ontario's students attend the public school system, and 31% the Catholic system. The remainder is in the fringe faith schools. Currently the public system cost the taxpayer $11 billion annually and the Catholic system $5 billion, plus or minus a few dollars. Mr. Tory tell the electorate that to fund the remaining faith base schools will cost $500 million. Simple mathematics should reveal that that estimate falls far short of what the true cost will be to the taxpayer and no assessment has been given to indicate the negative impact it will have on the public school system.

The funding of the Catholic system became embedded in the BNA Act at a time (1867) when Europe was in turmoil and that funding promise was designed to placate the French who were troublesome at that time.

There are somewhere between five and fifteen faith based schools that are supporting Mr. Tory in this costly and divisive restructuring of our education system. One speculates as to the number of new faiths that will appear shortly following the implementation of this politically motivated madness.

By what reasoning is it necessary to have religion the core of education? Surely education's primary purpose is to teach people to think and reason and learn how to find information, not to be indoctrinated by religious zealots who want to manipulate the young and brain- wash them to fit their religious mould.

Ideally, there would be a single school system dedicated to education, and religion would be an individual's choice and responsibility. We live in the 21st century, not the 17th or 18th and in truth all faiths are speculative and are used to provide a sense of meaning to life for many of us.

For centuries religion has failed mankind, caused wars, brutalized the enlightened who didn't fit the mould and has led to the world of human misery in which we live today.

Keep religion out of the schools and do not elect anyone who proposes the funding of such a divisive system.

Ken Hayward

Mono

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I agree that the John Tory plan to fund religious school boards is costly, inefficient and a divisive vision of education in Ontario. However, when Betsy Hall criticized it, she didn't explain how the Liberals intend to deal with the current system that is clearly discriminatory. Are the Liberals content with a system that has twice been censured by the United Nations Human Rights Committee? Is it ethical to invite people of various faiths into our province only to discriminate against them?

By contrast, the Green Party has shown leadership by supporting a system with one amalgamated board. Like so many Green Party policies, this approach would result in reduced costs that would enable school boards to expand programs to meet the challenges of a knowledge-based society. Beyond this Green Party policy, I would take steps to ensure that the amalgamated board provides for the teaching of community values as is done so effectively in the current Catholic School Board.

As with global warming, the Liberals should have realized that important issues are harder to deal with the longer they are ignored.

Rob Strang Dufferin-Caledon Green

Party Candidate