Fast Facts
Ontario’s Drummond Commission: Conducted in good faith?
Curiously, the Commission on the Reform of Ontario’s Public Services, tasked as it was with identifying “areas of overlap and duplication that could be eliminated to save taxpayer dollars”, deliberately ignored the most obvious and probably the most significant such area in the province – Ontario’s four overlapping school systems.
In defending the omission, Don Drummond’s fellow Commissioner Dominic Giroux explained that the Commission had no mandate to address constitutional guarantees and therefore did not even consider the idea of ending funding to the Catholic separate school systems. Considering that Ontario’s constitutional “obligation” to fund Catholic schools can be rescinded very quickly, however, this was a very arbitrary omission. Also, the legislative procedures required to facilitate the change should have been of no concern to the Commission. Their task was to identify overlap and duplication that could be eliminated to save money. It was for the politicians to worry about the legislation to make it happen. Dalton McGuinty himself had earlier indicated in the press that Drummond was not forbidden from recommending an amalgamation of the school systems – only that he would ignore that recommendation if it were made. So what happened? Why was such an obvious recommendation not even made?
In considering the answer to that question, it is interesting to consider the résumé of Commissioner Giroux. It was surprising, in fact, that he was appointed to the Commission at all. Currently president of Laurentian University, Giroux served previously as an Assistant Deputy Minister of Education for the French section where he was known by French public school trustees as a staunch and unshakeable advocate for Catholic separate schools. Not surprising, perhaps, given that he cut his political teeth as a trustee and then chair of the Ottawa French Catholic school board. Is this a man who is even capable of objectively considering the idea of amalgamating Ontario’s public and Catholic school systems? We think not. We think that was precisely why Dalton McGuinty appointed Giroux to the Commission – to steer Drummond away from Ontario's oldest sacred cow.
In defending the omission, Don Drummond’s fellow Commissioner Dominic Giroux explained that the Commission had no mandate to address constitutional guarantees and therefore did not even consider the idea of ending funding to the Catholic separate school systems. Considering that Ontario’s constitutional “obligation” to fund Catholic schools can be rescinded very quickly, however, this was a very arbitrary omission. Also, the legislative procedures required to facilitate the change should have been of no concern to the Commission. Their task was to identify overlap and duplication that could be eliminated to save money. It was for the politicians to worry about the legislation to make it happen. Dalton McGuinty himself had earlier indicated in the press that Drummond was not forbidden from recommending an amalgamation of the school systems – only that he would ignore that recommendation if it were made. So what happened? Why was such an obvious recommendation not even made?
In considering the answer to that question, it is interesting to consider the résumé of Commissioner Giroux. It was surprising, in fact, that he was appointed to the Commission at all. Currently president of Laurentian University, Giroux served previously as an Assistant Deputy Minister of Education for the French section where he was known by French public school trustees as a staunch and unshakeable advocate for Catholic separate schools. Not surprising, perhaps, given that he cut his political teeth as a trustee and then chair of the Ottawa French Catholic school board. Is this a man who is even capable of objectively considering the idea of amalgamating Ontario’s public and Catholic school systems? We think not. We think that was precisely why Dalton McGuinty appointed Giroux to the Commission – to steer Drummond away from Ontario's oldest sacred cow.
An illusory "obligation"
Ontario's constitutional "obligation" to fund Roman Catholic separate schools is largely illusory, as it can be removed very quickly. Quebec and Newfoundland each removed very similar constitutional "obligations" in the 1990s, before moving to a single public school system for each official language (English and French). The Ontario Government could easily follow their example. The constitution is no more an obstacle to fair and fiscally responsible reform in our school system than the Ontario government wishes it to be. See our Denominational rights page for more information.
Discriminatory admissions
Ontario's publicly funded Catholic school boards have an absolute right to refuse admission to non-Catholic children until grade 9, when "open access" (non-discriminatory admissions) is supposed to apply. At the elementary level (before grade 9), non-Catholic children are typically admitted to publicly funded Catholic schools only in declining enrolment areas, where the addition of a few warm, grant-generating children can boost the enrolment of an under enrolled school to a more cost effective level, prevent split grades, or prevent a school closing. In these cases, they are effectively transferring their own declining enrolment problems onto their coterminous public board.
Discriminatory hiring practices
Ontario's publicly funded Catholic school boards have an absolute right to refuse employment to non-Catholic teachers at all grade levels. Fully one third of Ontario's publicly funded teaching positions, those in the separate system, are essentially closed to two thirds of the population, the non-Catholics. Non-Catholic teachers are as rare as Sasquatches in Catholic school boards and where you can find one, they are ineligible for permanent positions, advancement, or promotion. Any we have heard from are desperate to find a permanent position with a public school board and look forward to the elimination of the discriminatory Catholic system.
All Ontarians pay for Catholic separate schools
All Ontarians bear the same tax burden, based on their income, not their faith, but only those of the Catholic faith are guaranteed a publicly funded school choice. School support designations on municipal property assessments have no effect on total school board funding, which is determined solely by enrolment and other documented needs.
Do you believe in a single public school system, but your children are currently enrolled in a Catholic separate school? Change your school support designation back to public school to indicate your support for one school system. Your Catholic school board will continue to receive the same funding based on its actual enrolment.
Do you believe in a single public school system, but your children are currently enrolled in a Catholic separate school? Change your school support designation back to public school to indicate your support for one school system. Your Catholic school board will continue to receive the same funding based on its actual enrolment.
Sectarian religious instruction in Catholic schools is not mandatory.
All of the information you are likely to receive from Ontario's publicly funded Catholic school boards will indicate that sectarian Catholic education is a mandatory subject for all students in their secondary schools. The truth, however, is that students can be exempted from this requirement upon written application to the board. See section 42 (11) - (14) of the Education Act for details and check with your local Catholic school board for their exact procedures for obtaining this exemption. Oh ... and tell your friends. They likely won't hear about this exemption from their local Catholic school board. They are far more likely to be told a lie -- that sectarian Catholic education is mandatory for all students.
A web site called MyExemption.com has been set up by parents who have secured religious instruction exemptions for their children attending Ontario Catholic schools. They offer to guide and assist other parents through the process.
A web site called MyExemption.com has been set up by parents who have secured religious instruction exemptions for their children attending Ontario Catholic schools. They offer to guide and assist other parents through the process.
Racial and ethnic segregation
Religious segregation introduces some degree of racial and ethnic segregation wherever it occurs. Religious segregation in the Ontario school system is no exception. The simple fact is, different racial and ethnic groups adhere to different faiths at different rates.
Of the dozen or so visible minorities tracked by the Census, only two, Latin Americans and Filipinos, are more likely to be Catholic than non-Catholic (and they are overwhelmingly Catholic). The rest are more likely to be non-Catholic. What this means in Ontario is that in terms of race and ethnicity, Catholic schools are not as diverse as public schools and what diversity they have is a different diversity. The differences can be stark -- particularly in areas of high immigration such as Toronto.
What problems can we expect in the future due to racial and ethnic segregation caused by the religious segregation in our schools? What problems are occuring now? Whatever they are, we'd stand a better chance of avoiding them under one school system -- where the religious, racial, and ethnic makeup of our schools would accurately reflect the diversity of the communities from which they draw their students. Tolerance is best fostered by respectful and mutually enriching engagement, not isolation and physically separate development.
Of the dozen or so visible minorities tracked by the Census, only two, Latin Americans and Filipinos, are more likely to be Catholic than non-Catholic (and they are overwhelmingly Catholic). The rest are more likely to be non-Catholic. What this means in Ontario is that in terms of race and ethnicity, Catholic schools are not as diverse as public schools and what diversity they have is a different diversity. The differences can be stark -- particularly in areas of high immigration such as Toronto.
What problems can we expect in the future due to racial and ethnic segregation caused by the religious segregation in our schools? What problems are occuring now? Whatever they are, we'd stand a better chance of avoiding them under one school system -- where the religious, racial, and ethnic makeup of our schools would accurately reflect the diversity of the communities from which they draw their students. Tolerance is best fostered by respectful and mutually enriching engagement, not isolation and physically separate development.
Non-Catholic children in Catholic schools
The numbers are hard to come by (for good reason, as they seriously undermine Catholic school board "diversity" claims), but two published newspaper articles were quite revealing in this regard. Enrolment at the Ottawa Catholic School Board is 6% non-Catholic and enrolment at the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board is 7% non-Catholic, according to figures published in the Ottawa Citizen and Hamilton Spectator respectively. These numbers correlate poorly with the Ontario population as a whole, where 66% are non-Catholic. It is a certainty that these numbers are also skewed heavily to the secondary school level (grade 9 and up), where "open access" (non-discriminatory admission) is supposed to apply. Catholic elementary schools are almost exclusively Catholic -- except in areas of pronounced declining enrolment.
Ontario Catholic population (2001 Census)
Catholic and non-Catholic populations by proportion in Ontario and in the three provinces that have already eliminated public funding for denominational separate schools. All figures are from the 2001 Census, the last for which religious data are available.