catholic schools

Catholic schools popular with parents across Canada

More than one of every five students in Alberta and Saskatchewan attend a Roman Catholic separate school.

Don’t end funding for Ontario's Catholic schools—start funding independent schools

Ontario does not provide public funding for students attending independent schools.

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Does Constitutional Protection Prevent Education Reform in Ontario?

The Canadian Constitution entitles Ontario Catholic schools to be funded by the public purse. That funding is shielded from Charter review, meaning that citizens cannot challenge it in the courts. However, the constitutional entitlement does not tie the hands of the Ontario government because amending or eliminating it is not legally difficult.

Unlike amendments to other parts of the Constitution that are subject to more onerous amending requirements, amending separate school funding as it affects Ontario requires only a resolution passed by the Ontario legislature and federal Parliament. Essentially, the Ontario government could simply legislate its way out of the commitment. The federal resolution should follow as a matter of course.

Given the ease with which the provision can be amended, broad education reform is possible.

Better late than never for school choice in Ontario

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the report from the Commission on Private Schools in Ontario, so it’s a good time to crack open the several hundred pages and consider several proposals that, for a variety of reasons, were ignored.

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