Help End Public Funding of Catholic Separate School System ~ Aider à mettre fin au financement public du système d’écoles catholiques séparées

March 4, 2022 - 12:00 am

Legal action opposing the full funding of Ontario separate schools

You can help fund this action:

An Application has been filed at the Ontario Superior Court and served on the Ontario government.

In 1987, the Supreme Court of Canada issued a ruling that the Charter of Rights does not apply to the funding of Ontario separate schools. The Application states that there have been sufficient changes since that ruling to justify re-examination.

It argues that:

  • 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 funding of Grades 11 and 12 at separate schools, neither of which existed in 1867, violate the equality sections of the Charter of Rights.

[* these rights are not “protected” – guaranteed, but only allowed or grandfathered by the BNA Act of 1867 (Constitution Act of 1982).]

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 that up to 1.6 billion dollars a year could be saved.

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.

You can contribute to the challenge:

All contributions will be greatly appreciated. The lawsuit is being crowdfunded by the donations of many people.