Tag Archives: ontario

We have received notice that the Society of Freethinkers (SoFree)and it’s lobbying partner, Secular Connexion, based in the Hamilton/Burlington and Elmira areas (respectively), have launched a new campaign to oppose Ontario’s system of public funding of religious school systems.

Here’s what we’ve been told so far:

Secular Connexion Séculière is a national non-profit lobby group that seeks justice for non-believers. Please join The Society of Freethinkers and us in an e-mail campaign directed at Ontario MPPs to change funding for the RC separate school system by distributing the attached email and MPP contact list to your members and friends.

We want to demonstrate the overwhelming support that exists in Ontario for a change to the current funding of Catholic separate schools. This e-mail sets out the facts about the current system and the savings that would be generated.

It is being sent to Secular Humanist organizations, religious groups, public school teachers’ organizations and others who have expressed support for this change. Our hope is that an inundation of e-mails from various sources, including from non-Catholic religious groups, will convince them that it is time for a change. Ontario is a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-religious province that differs markedly from the Ontario of 1867.

Please distribute the attached e-mail and and contact list to members of your organizations and to others who may also support this endeavour.

There are many myths and misconceptions around the current funding of the Catholic school system. The email we are asking people to send presents these facts:

• the current full funding of the Catholic school system is not constitutionally guaranteed. The Constitution grants provinces the right to determine the amount of funding for denominational schools if they funded such school systems prior to joining Confederation. Ontario chose to fully fund Catholic elementary and high schools as did Québec. Quebec changed their school system, in 1997, to one based solely on language, not religion, by merely asking the Federal government to let them stop the funding. Newfoundland and Labrador also changed their school system to eliminate funding of Catholic schools.

• 74%1 of Ontarians are not Roman Catholic, but pay for a system that can legally refuse to hire them as teachers, and can exclude their children from its schools.

• the municipal taxes of Catholics pay for, at most, 8% of the operating costs of the separate system: the balance is paid out of taxes paid by all Ontarians, be they Catholic, Protestant, Atheist, Jew, Muslim, Hindu, etc.

• Ontario could save over $1.5 billion a year by having one non-denominational public school system

• parents who send their children to non-Catholic private schools pay tuition fees which are generally not tax deductible, and must also pay their municipal taxes, including the education portion

We need our children to learn what unites them, not what divides them.

Please contact either of us for additional information. Should you wish to see the source documents for the figures cited above, these can be provided.

Thank you for your consideration of our proposal.

Doug Thomas, President, Secular Connexion Séculière,
president@secularconnexion.ca
Isobel Taylor, Vice-President, SOFREE, vicepresident@sofree.ca

Up For Discussion

If you’re interested in analyzing and discussing this issue, there are actions you can take. First, here at Humanist Heritage Canada (Humanist Freedoms), we are open to receiving your well-written articles.

Second, we encourage you to visit the New Enlightenment Project’s (NEP) Facebook page and discussion group.

Citations, References And Other Reading

^{By continuing to access, link to, or use this website and/or podcast, you accept the HumanistFreedoms.com and HumanistHeritageCanada.ca Terms of Service in full. If you disagree with the terms of service in whole or in part, you must not use the website, podcast or other material.}

The views, opinions and analyses expressed in the articles on Humanist Freedoms are those of the contributor(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the publishers.

Express, Uncategorized

Canada: Election 2025

March 24, 2025 humanistfreedoms

A federal general election has been called for April 28, 2025. Throughout the month, we’ll refresh this post with any news, information or resources that may be of interest. Check back often!

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Having achieved leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada, Mark Carney announced that voters will have their opportunity to reflect on Canadian politics and submit their vote in the 45th general election.

Elections Canada has provided an informational video to help Canadians to know what to expect when they go to vote:

This election became inevitable as confidence in the Liberal government, as led by Justin Trudeau, had been effectively lost late in 2024. However, the lack of confidence in Trudeau’s Liberals has not been the dominant issue in the news. Canadian’s attention has shifted from whether the Liberals could be trusted to govern in the post-COVID global environment to what Canada and Canadians must do in light of dramatic changes in the foreign and trade policies of the United States of America.

In the meantime, what can we expect politicians and media to focus on until election day? Here are a few obvious topics:

National Unity and Federalism: Quebec separatism, Western alienation, US-Canada relations and the role of the federal government in addressing regional concerns and national unity.
Foreign Aid Policy, Trade, International Relations: Global relationships are getting a shake-up. Canadians may be getting a wake-up.
Climate Change and Environment: Canada’s commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, renewable energy policies, and addressing the impacts of climate change, selling oil.
Economic Growth and Inequality: A few decades ago, Jean Chretien won an election on a chant of Jobs! Jobs! Jobs!….in 2025, it may be time for a politician to chant Homes! Homes! Homes.
Immigration and Border Security: The management of Canada’s immigration system, border security, and the balance between economic growth, social cohesion and pressures imposed by the USA.
Gun Control and Public Safety: Gun control laws and measures to address public safety concerns, including mental health and community well-being and human rights.

Some potential (and perennial) concerns for Canadian humanists in the 2025 federal election might include:

Secularism and Church-State Separation: Humanists in Canada should continue to be concerned about the role of religion in public life and the separation of church and state.
Science, Education and Critical Thinking: Humanists will want nee to be on the watch for science and critical-thinking in policy-making.
Social Justice and Human Rights: Humanists often prioritize social justice, equality, and human rights, including issues like LGBTQ+ rights, access to healthcare, and Indigenous reconciliation.
Freedom of Expression and Speech: Humanists may advocate for the protection of freedom of expression and speech, including the right to criticize religion and other forms of oppression.
Social Justice: Addressing issues of poverty, inequality, and systemic racism, including promoting affordable housing, increasing the minimum wage, and supporting marginalized communities.
Environmental Protection: Taking action to address climate change, promoting renewable energy, and protecting Ontario’s natural resources for future generations.

Canadians are well-aware that the primary options for electing a candidate in their riding include, along with the already-mentioned Liberals, the Conservative Party of Canada as led by Pierre Poilievre, Jagmeet Singh New Democratic Party , the Green Party of Canada and the Bloc Quebecois (for those living in Quebec).

Certainly, there are a few aspiring hopefuls, like Maxime Bernier’s People’s Party of Canada, but Canadians also know the real contest of who will form the next government is between team blue and team red.

Pundits, experts and horse-race fans will be eager to pitch their favorite team based on their individual biases. And that may be the biggest hint that any humanist voter needs to make their local selection. Take heed of your preferences, biases and priorities and vote for whichever party or candidate that seems likeliest to make decisions the way you want them made.

Up For Discussion

Second, we encourage you to visit the New Enlightenment Project’s (NEP) Facebook page and discussion group.

Citations, References And Other Reading

Featured Photo Courtesy of :
https://www.elections.ca/home.aspx
https://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=pol&dir=par&document=index&lang=e

The views, opinions and analyses expressed in the articles on Humanist Freedoms are those of the contributor(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the publishers.

Express, Uncategorized

Ontario Election 2025

January 30, 2025 humanistfreedoms Leave a comment

A provincial general election has been called for February 27, 2025. Throughout the month, we’ll refresh this post with any news, information or resources that may be of interest. Check back often!

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It is probably clear to most Ontario electors that Premier Doug Ford called the election now, rather than waiting until 2026, primarily because the timing is better for him and his Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario.

According to Joshua Freedman at CP24, the leading reasons for an early election in Ontario include strong polling for the PCs, threats of punitive tariffs by the current President of the United States of America, and Ontario’s frequent tendency to elect provincial liberals when a federal conservative government is in power (and vice versa). These reasons all seem correctly assumed.

Polling the electorate is valued by the media and political parties in our first past the post system. It isn’t necessary in Canadian politics to be more popular than the other candidate(s). As a candidate, it’s great if you and your party happen to be more popular, but it isn’t really the bottom line. Consider the 2022 Ontario election results:

If you weren’t already familiar with our system, you’d wonder how a party with 40.8 percent of the vote was able to achieve a majority government. You’d be baffled to see that 40.8 can get you a 66.9 percent majority of seats.

That is indeed what you can get when every riding is its own horse-race. It takes a lot for Canadians to send a political party packing. Premier Ford does not want to wait until the Ontario electorate is completely sick of hearing his name. In Canadian politics, our tendency is not to vote FOR a government, but to vote to GET RID of a government.

This informs Ontario’s tendency to have a red party in power provincially when a blue party is in power federally (and vice versa). Once we’ve gotten sick of seeing red….we’re sick of it regardless of whether they’re sitting in Ottawa or Toronto. Is it more complicated than that? Probably…or maybe. But it’s not a popular myth for no reason.

Did you know that there are 25 registered political parties in Ontario? We checked the Elections Ontario website today to get an idea of who’s who. That’s a lot of parties to try to explore and we’ll do our best to run through the lot (probably in a separate post). For now…starting at the top the alphabetically sorted list, the Canadians’ Choice Party website states that their mandate is to, “help Independent Candidates across Ontario to better represent their ridings and to bring a fair measure of direct democracy to all Ontarians and Canadians.” and that they have four “pillars” grouped under the somewhat uncomfortable acronym FIST: Fiscal responsibility and respect for taxpayers, Individual freedom and the right to free speech, Sovereignty and protection of common-law rights, Transparency and accountability in government. Apparently these folks have been around since 2011 with “A bottom-up approach to engage citizens.” We’ll let you work out the pun(s) that inevitably (and perhaps, deservedly) comes to mind. The initiative seems to be earnestly motivated, but doesn’t really present a credible, self-consistent philosophy.

Meanwhile, perhaps the biggest motivation for the election that’s been posited so far is the threat of tariffs and/or financial hard times. Some pundits will suggest that non-blue candidates will be wise to stay away from the issue. For those who oppose the ongoing financial and human rights embarrassment of funding religious schools…this is an opportunity.

Our reasoning goes like this: Given the RISKS associated with unreliable global trading partners, supply chain business practices that destroy Ontario-based value-added business and the ever-increasing probability of continued financial hard-times….can Ontario really afford the anachronistic, misguided, wasteful and discriminatory practice of funding the Catholic school system with public money any longer?

There has never been a more pressing time to push Ontario’s conservative politicians to set aside their puppy-eyed adoration of Bill Davis, admit that discriminatory funding of one religious group’s schools is a bad and wasteful idea and rip the band-aid off.

As a very modest side note (and speaking of puppy-eyed adoration), Ontario humanists may do well to spend some time with Steve Paikin’s biography of Bill Davis titled, Bill Davis: Nation Builder, and Not So Bland After All. If you read the book and between the lines, you may come away with important insight into why Ontario perpetuates this recognized human rights violation and what it may take to finally get the province back on track for a single school system.

Lest we be accused of being a one-trick-pony kind of place, we asked an AI to generate a list of issues in the current provincial election. The response we got back was:

Jobs and the economy, with a focus on creating new opportunities and supporting workers
Healthcare, including the need for more family doctors and improved access to healthcare services
Affordability, with parties proposing various solutions to address the rising cost of living in Ontario
Gridlock and transportation, with discussions on highway expansion, public transit, and the removal of tolls on Highway 407
Education, with the NDP proposing to invest an additional $830 million a year to clear the repair backlog in schools and create a universal School Food Program
Housing, with the NDP proposing to create 60,000 new supportive housing units and establish Homes Ontario to build permanently affordable housing
Energy and the environment, with the PC party proposing to permanently cut the provincial tax on gas and diesel5
Indigenous issues, with a focus on reconciliation and supporting Indigenous communities
Long-term care, with a need for improved services and support for seniors
Infrastructure, with the PC party proposing to invest up to $15 billion more over three years to speed up key capital projects
Social assistance, with the NDP and Liberal parties proposing to double ODSP
Tariff response, with the PC party proposing $10 billion in cash-flow support for Ontario employ

When we asked, what issues should be of importance to humanists in this coming election, we were advised that, “As a humanist, you may be particularly interested in issues that promote the well-being, dignity, and flourishing of all individuals in Ontario,” and the following list of priorities was presented:

Education: Investing in public education, promoting critical thinking, and ensuring that all students have access to quality education, regardless of their background or socioeconomic status.
Healthcare: Ensuring that all Ontarians have access to quality, publicly-funded healthcare, including mental health services, reproductive health, and palliative care.
Social Justice: Addressing issues of poverty, inequality, and systemic racism, including promoting affordable housing, increasing the minimum wage, and supporting marginalized communities.
Environmental Protection: Taking action to address climate change, promoting renewable energy, and protecting Ontario’s natural resources for future generations.
Human Rights: Ensuring that all Ontarians are treated with dignity and respect, regardless of their identity, including promoting LGBTQ2+ rights, Indigenous reconciliation, and anti-racism initiatives.
Access to Justice: Ensuring that all Ontarians have access to justice, including affordable legal services, mental health support, and community resources.
Science and Critical Thinking: Promoting the use of evidence-based decision-making, critical thinking, and scientific literacy in policy-making.

Up For Discussion

Second, we encourage you to visit the New Enlightenment Project’s (NEP) Facebook page and discussion group.

Citations, References And Other Reading

The views, opinions and analyses expressed in the articles on Humanist Freedoms are those of the contributor(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the publishers.

Uncategorized

Alumni to Amend Section 93 Ontario

June 8, 2024 humanistfreedoms Leave a comment

Opposition to Ontario’s public funding of faith-based schools is almost exactly as old as the funding itself. Unfortunately, organized opposition to public funding has not yet pulled together the right combination of strategy and execution to succeed the goal to put an end to the human rights violation at the core of Ontario’s education system.

However – the ambition continues. Alumni to Amend Section 93 Ontario (AA93) represents former students and their supporters fighting to end the public funding of Catholic education in Ontario. Ontarian taxpayers pay for an inefficient, discriminatory education system that causes both Catholic and Public boards to divert resources away from their classrooms.

The organizations’ website states that it was founded in May of 2023 by Christina Cody. Cody comes from a long line of Catholic school attendees and was educated via the York Catholic District School Board. It was that board’s adoption of a set of anti-LGBTQ+ policies that Cody couldn’t accept. Disheartened to see that the faith-based school system’s ideologies and actions hadn’t changed, Cody was inspired by other former attendees who disavowed the actions of the YCDSB.

AA93 states that it is driven by and centered on “the experiences of former students and teachers who have attended and been employed by Catholic school boards. Those who have worked and been educated within these boards paint a picture of systematic bullying, abuse, and marginalization that is encouraged and supported by church teachings.”

Opposition to public funding of faith-based schools is, of itself, a correct and worthy thing. Perhaps strategies borne of the alumni of the system will be more successful than those that have started outside the machinations of the Catholic church. We can only hope so, and encourage renewed efforts to bring greater fairness, equality and efficiency to Ontario.

Citations, References And Other Reading

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The views, opinions and analyses expressed in the articles on Humanist Freedoms are those of the contributor(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the publishers.

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Petition to Ontario’s Government to End Public Funding of Catholic School Systems

August 5, 2023 humanistfreedoms

Posted on behalf of CRIPE, Secular Connexion, OPEN, Center For Inquiry Canada , and Humanist Ottawa and the hundreds of people who have worked on this issue for the past 30+ years.

MPP Jessica Bell (NDP University-Rosedale) has agreed to present a petition at Queen’s Park, calling for the elimination of public funding for the Catholic School systems. We need your assistance in circulating physical copies of the attached petition and returning them to Petitions / Centre for Inquiry Canada | PO Box 83045, Ottawa RPO Bank Walkley, Ontario K1V 1A3 no later than October 1, 2023.

Your signature will help to ensure that this petition is presented in the provincial legislature and will attract media attention and raise public awareness. This is another step in the eventual, inevitable withdrawal of discriminatory public funding for a school system that is not open to all.

Please help us to get signatures. Please share the petition on social media, through your website, in person at any events you hold, and by requesting that your members sign and share it. (The petition is attached to this email. You are encouraged to upload it to your website and otherwise make it available to supporters in Ontario.)

To be presented to the Legislative Assembly, a petition must meet the following rules (taken from https://www.ola.org/en/get-involved/petitions):

It must ask for an action that is within the jurisdiction of the Legislative Assembly.

It must use clear and respectful language.

The text of the petition must be at the top of every page of signatures.

All signatures must be original. They must be written directly on the petition.

Each petitioner must print their name and address and sign their name under the text of the petition.

Petitioners must be residents of Ontario.

The petition must be addressed to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

The petition must be written, typewritten, or printed. Emailed, faxed, photocopied, or online petitions are not allowed.

one_school_system_petition Download

Please note:

Do not change or annotate the petition. Any changes, including written notations may invalidate the form, including all signatures on the page. If you have technical questions please contact Petitions@Centreforinquiry.caFor more information about the elimination of funding for the Catholic School system see: http://open.cripeweb.org/aboutOpen.html

Citations, References And Other Reading

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Canada, Uncategorized

An Unfulfilled Guarantee: OPEN Update to a Legal Challenge to Public Funding of Catholic Schools in Ontario

November 19, 2022 humanistfreedoms Leave a comment

In January of 2022, HumanistFreedoms.com reported on a human rights challenge to the Province of Ontario’s public-funding of Catholic schools led by an organizations named One Public Education Now (OPEN). Recently, OPEN has sent us an update on their work.

Two members of OPEN are plaintiffs in a Charter of Rights challenge to the current funding of separate schools in Ontario. The lawsuit states the funding of non-Catholics in separate schools and the funding of Grades 11 and 12 are not protected from Charter challenge and violate the s.15(1) guarantee of equal protection and benefit of the law for all religions and beliefs (including beliefs in no religion).

The two plaintiffs are a teacher who cannot obtain a teaching position in one-third of publicly-funded separate schools because she is not Catholic, and a parent whose children must travel an extra 80 minutes per day in order for them to have a non-denominational public education, and not a publicly-funded Catholic education.

The Attorney-General of Ontario has brought a Motion to Dismiss the Application before it even gets to a full hearing. The Motion is scheduled for Friday, November 25, 2022 and we think it will not be successful for various reasons including that the funding of non-Catholics in separate schools has not been ruled on by any court in Ontario. But obviously it means further delay and further expenses. We have already raised over $175,000, but we know we need to raise more. People can find out more on our website, https://open.cripeweb.org/, where they can also donate through secure PayPal or by E-transfer to open@cripeweb.org.

Citations, References And Other Reading

The views, opinions and analyses expressed in the articles on Humanist Freedoms are those of the contributor(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the publishers.

Americas, Canada, Uncategorized

Elected Office(s) and the Catholic School System in Ontario: A Match Made In…

October 16, 2022 humanistfreedoms Leave a comment

There’s something about elected office(s) and democracy that doesn’t quite match-up well with religious prerequisites. The concepts are fundamentally opposed. Elected office and democracy puts the leadership selection process in the hands of the people that the system is intended to serve while religious prerequisites place the selection process in the hands of religious authorities, regardless of who may be within that system. That seems fairly obvious doesn’t it?

Canadian media outlets have recently reported the outcome of a legal case wherein an Ontario student sued the York Catholic District School Board after having been barred from running for elected office within the school system. It seems that Dasha Kandaharian, an Orthodox Christian (i.e. not a Roman Catholic), was not allowed to run for student trustee at the high school she attended because of that sectarian difference.

Media stories have referred to the case as a “landmark” – which it undoubtedly is. The decision undoubtedly addresses the situation faced by thousands of non-Catholic students who have attended publicly-funded Catholic schools in the past (clearly, Kandaharian was not he first and only student to be barred from the elected office) – and the thousands more who may do so in the future.

What the media have not (that we can find) spent much time in considering is where the Catholic School Board(s) of Ontario may have gotten this notion that a sectarian religious prerequisite for elected office is an acceptable thing.

Perhaps a peek at the Ontario Municipal & School Board Elections (2022) webstie might offer some perspective. The “Become A Trustee” page clearly states:

A person is qualified to be elected as a school board trustee if the person is qualified to vote in a school board election and is a resident of the school board district.

When filing a nomination a candidate must meet all of the following requirements:

a resident within the jurisdiction of the board;
a supporter of the board (“supporter” refers to the individual’s support for one of the four publicly funded school systems. A list of supporters for each system is kept by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation);
a Canadian citizen;
at least 18 years old;
Roman Catholic (if running for a Catholic school board);
not legally prohibited from voting; and
not disqualified by any legislation from holding school board office.

Note: A candidate, if nominated, must remain qualified throughout the election and, if elected, throughout the term of office. The term of office is 4 years. School board candidates should confirm that they have the qualifications described here and in section 219 of the Education Act. It is the responsibility of the candidate to determine whether he or she is qualified to be elected to and hold office.

In case you’re interested, Section 219 of the Education Act doesn’t seem to actually bear the qualification that we’ve bolded in the language above. Perhaps the argument is implicit or explicit in some other section of the Act. But for the moment, we can skip over that murky inconsistency and observe that the York Catholic District School Board (and any other publicly funded Catholic School Board) appears merely to have been applying the same criteria to the selection and election of Student Trustees as the Government of Ontario appears to tolerate for the selection and election of School Board Trustees.

Well, this landmark court decision rather brings to question whether what’s good for the goose (students) may also be good for the gander (adult politicians).

So let us consider, in the spirit of taking note of landmarks, an entirely fictional scenario: a hypothetical Secular Humanist who happens to be a (legally defined) ‘supporter’ of the Catholic School system in their area decides that they would like to be Board Trustee of that system. Regardless of how they might fare in an open election – how well do you imagine this hypothetical individual might fare in the qualification screening process?

Here is a separate and perhaps more fundamental question: Can you imagine any other elected office in a 21st-century democratic country named Canada where membership in a religious sect would be accepted as a pre-requisite condition?

And here, in an un-related way, is an observation from our recent Preamble, schmeable article:

Did you notice that the US Supreme Court Judges who turned against Roe v Wade are all Catholic? Well, according to Catholic News Agency, they appear to be. A coincidence, no doubt.

Clearly, religious sectarian membership and elected/selected public office in a contemporary democracy is a match made in….

Citations, References And Other Reading

The views, opinions and analyses expressed in the articles on Humanist Freedoms are those of the contributor(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the publishers.

Americas, Canada

Human Rights Challenge to Government Funding of Catholic Schools in Ontario

January 19, 2022 humanistfreedoms

The following article has been compiled from information provided by OPEN.

An application stating the current funding of Ontario separate schools violates s.15(1) of the Charter of Rights has been filed at the Ontario Superior Court and served on the Ontario government on behalf of One Public Education Now (OPEN) lawyers Adair Goldberg Bieber.

Learn more about **Ontario’s History of Ontario Catholic Separate School Funding** by reading the only book about that we’ve been able to find.

The two plaintiffs, a public high school teacher, and a parent of children in the French public school system, are founding members of OPEN (One Public Education Now). OPEN is a coalition of groups and individuals dedicated to challenging the current discriminatory funding of the schools of one religion.

Many people want to do something about this discriminatory funding of one religious school system, but don’t know what to do. Governments and political parties ignore letters, articles and petitions. But they can’t ignore lawsuits, and people can do something by contributing to our challenge. Our lawsuit is funded by the donations of many people and needs additional funding to continue our legal fight.

The Application states there have been sufficient changes since 1987 that the Reference re Bill 30 Supreme Court of Canada ruling that the Charter does not apply to the funding of Ontario separate schools should be re-examined.

Therefore, the only rights protected from Charter challenge are those that existed in 1867 and are protected by s.93(1); and the public funding of non-Catholics at separate schools and the public funding of Grades 11 and 12 at separate schools, neither of which existed in 1867, violate the equality sections of the Charter of Rights.

Not only is the public funding contrary to the Charter of Rights, but it wastes money in duplicate administration and unnecessary busing of students at a time when money is needed for, among other things, protecting the safety of teachers and students. Estimating the savings is difficult because so many of the costs are hidden but it has been estimated up to 1.6 billion dollars a year could be saved. So many people think separate schools are funded by residential property taxes, not realizing just 7% of separate school operational funding, and none of the capital funding, come from the property taxes of residential separate school supporters.

OPEN’s Positions Regarding Funding of Catholic School System in Ontario

Separate schools were started under historical circumstances that no longer exist; for example, there were fights between Protestants and Catholics in public schools and Ontario agreed to protect separate Catholic schools in return for Quebec protecting separate Protestant schools; these circumstances no longer apply
So much has changed since the 1987 Reference re Bill 30 Supreme Court of Canada decision, such as Quebec abolishing its funding of separate schools in 1997, that the ruling the Charter of Rights does not apply to the funding of Ontario separate schools, should be reconsidered

Separate schools are not paid for by separate school residential property taxes.
Capital funding is paid for entirely by general provincial revenues. In general, only 7% of operating revenues of separate schools come from residential property taxes; 15% comes from business property taxes; 70% comes from general provincial funding.
By contrast, 15% of public school funding comes from residential property taxes and only about 60% from general provincial funding.

The current system wastes money. Boards of Trustees, Superintendents of Education, Board offices and administrative staff, are duplicated.
We don’t have two fire services, one for Catholics and one for everyone else. Think of the waste if we did.
Students are bused to the closest public or separate school, instead of walking or being bused to the nearest publicly-supported public school.
Local community schools are being closed that could be kept open if all local students went to a public local school, not split between public and separate schools
Estimating the savings is difficult because so many of the costs are hidden but it has been estimated up to 1.6 billion dollars a year could be saved.

One third of Ontario publicly-funded teaching jobs are denied to the two-thirds of the population who are not Catholic even though all Ontario tax-payers pay for these schools.

Of course Catholics who want to can pay to send their children to religious schools, just as Anglicans, Baptists, Muslims and others do. What is unfair is the government, for outdated reasons, funding one religious group .
People have signed petitions, written articles, and sent letters and emails. But because all the major parties support the status quo, nothing changes.

People can contribute to the challenge via the OPEN website, https://open.cripeweb.org/aboutOpen.html through our secure PayPal link, or send through e-transfer (Interac) to open@cripeweb.org. All contributions greatly appreciated.

Contact : open@cripeweb.org for more information.

Image Courtesy of Civil Rights In Public Education

Citations, References And Other Reading

Featured Photo Courtesy of: https://www.ontariocourts.ca/scj/about/
https://open.cripeweb.org/aboutOpen.html
http://www.cripeweb.org/home.php

The views, opinions and analyses expressed in the articles on Humanist Freedoms are those of the contributor(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the publishers.

Uncategorized

Profile: Andrew West

May 28, 2020 humanistfreedoms

According to his website, Andrew West is a lawyer in the Ottawa area with specialization in Environmental Law and dispute resolution. He’s also the Green Party of Ontario’s Attorney General Critic. Currently, West has his sights set on leading the Green Party of Canada.

Following a career in the television industry working mostly as a sole proprietor/independent contractor, West attended Ryerson University (B.A. (Hons) in Politics and Governance) and University of Ottawa (Faculty of Law). West has volunteered for several NGO’s including a committee chair role for Amnesty International’s annual fundraiser, “Taste for Justice” – raising money to help stop violence against women.

West has run for office as a Green Party candidate in four election since 2014, most recently in a provincial by-election in Orleans (February 2020). When asked during a candidate debate whether education should be considered an essential service, West stated

“I think education is the most important thing we can do in this province.…rather than making cuts and slashing…proper investment back in to the most important resource we have, our children.” The format of the debate did not provide adequate time for West to immediately elaborate on how investing back into children’s education might be achieved. Later, however, he stated that helping to create appropriate funding would be “to merge the public and Catholic school boards.“

Ontario’s Ministry of Education is one of the province’s biggest Ministries. This massive ministry happens to house one of Canada’s greatest human rights embarrassments, the ongoing privileging of the Catholic religion via public-funding of Catholic school boards.

There are many individuals and organizations in Ontario who oppose the ongoing public privileging of the Catholic religion. Andrew West appears to be one of the few politicians willing to talk about ways and reasons to bring the Ministry of Education’s spending into line with principles of equal human rights.

Candidates for the leadership of the Green Party of Canada must raise $10,000.00 as part of their leadership campaign by the first week of June. While it appears that the Party has a system to track credit for generating donations, the money does not go to an individual candidate, but to the Party. As of May 28, 2020 West does not yet appear to have reached the mile-marking of having his portrait appear as a candidate. Whether he progresses or not, advances in human rights will rely upon politicians like Andrew West who develop and communicate policy that is consistent with a common and shared humanity.

At www.humanistfreedoms.com we do not endorse any specific political party nor any candidate. However, from time to time, political parties and/or individual politicians take positions on issues that deserve to be recognized and analyzed. We are particularly interested in issues related to defending human rights and our common humanity. If think that a position taken by an individual politician or a political party deserves to be covered – contact us.

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Virtual Events And Worthy Webinars

May 19, 2020 humanistfreedoms Leave a comment

Humanist Association of Ottawa Virtual Pub Nite

The Humanist Association of Ottawa (HAO) has been operating since 1968. Our vision is a world where reason and compassion guide public policy and social values to enable the fulfillment of human potential. Our mission is to promote the cause of humanism, foster the humanist community in Ottawa, and advocate for a secular public domain.

Time: Jun 1, 2020 07:00 PM in America/Toronto

Click here to register.

Clear, Empathic Communication in a Pandemic & Always (A Two-Part Series)

A Webinar with the Gold Foundation & Alda Center Thanks for joining us for this two-part informational webinar series, made possible by a grant from the Kavli Foundation and sponsored by the American Chemical Society. Please register below.

PART 1: WEDNESDAY, MAY 27TH, 1:00-1:20PM ET
PART 2: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3RD, 1:00-1:20PM ET

Click here to register.

https://www.aldacenter.org/aldaonline

Difficult Discussions – Why Secularists Disagree on Bill 21

This will be an online meeting using Zoom. You can join with a computer, tablet, smartphone, or by phone (audio only). Information will be provided to those who RSVP

Has there been a more contentious issue for secularists in Canada than Quebec’s Bill 21? At CFIC, we’ve seen that this issue has been divisive for our secular community. We think that it is important to have a discussion about this topic, not to change minds, but to enhance our understanding of differing perspectives.

The event will start with a presentation by Catherine Francis about the background of Quebec’s Secular Bill and the subsequent legal challenge, followed by a moderated Q+A and discussion
Whether you have a strong opinion about this bill (either for or against) or have watched the dialogue and not come to any conclusions, this webinar is for you.

This is part of a series of presentations about topics that our members disagree on. We recognize that while we all are aiming for a more just, secular society; we may have different views on how to get there. What we do know, is that as secularists, we must stick together on the big issues such as the funding of religion, elimination of blasphemy laws around the world and the use of science, rather than superstition to solve the world’s biggest issues.

About our Presenter:
Catherine Francis was called to the Ontario bar in 1987 and is a partner in the Litigation Group and Bankruptcy and Insolvency Group of Minden Gross LLP, a mid-sized Toronto law firm. Her practice is devoted largely to corporate/commercial, real estate, banking, and insolvency litigation.
In her spare time, Catherine is a member of several secular organizations and serves on the steering committee of the Humanist Association of Toronto. Catherine has frequently presented to Toronto Oasis, a community that meets regularly to create a place for freethinkers to celebrate the human experience, on legal issues of interest to the secular community.

Please join us on June 6, 2020 for a robust discussion of Bill 21.

Click Here to Register