We strongly encourage our supporters to seize every opportunity to write letters highlighting the discrimination and waste in the Ontario school system. Following is a sample of the letters written by our supporters (some published, some not). All appear with the permission of the author or the media outlet involved. We welcome new submissions.
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From: Leonard Baak
To: Ottawa Citizen Letters Editor *** SUBMITTED ONLY, NOT PRINTED ***
Sent: Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Subject: Re: SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE - Is the PM Catholic?, Oct 18/05
Standard Judeo-Christian teaching does indeed require that there be "no social or legal discrimination based on religious beliefs". In his Declaration on Religious Freedom, Pope Paul VI stated as much very eloquently when he said: "government is to see to it that equality of citizens before the law, which is itself an element of the common good, is never violated, whether openly or covertly, for religious reasons. Nor is there to be discrimination among citizens." In Christianity's Great Commandment, Christ himself called upon believers to love God and to love their neighbours as themselves.
In considering these teachings, it escapes me how some adherents of the faith can continue to defend superior education rights for Ontario Catholics in our discriminatory school system; how they can fail to see their own hypocrisy. Such discrimination is untenable; the corollary of its continuation is contempt for the rights of all citizens to equality and to freedom from discrimination. How we chose to deal with that reality exposes what we really believe; it exposes who we really are.
Leonard Baak
President, Education Equality in Ontario (www.OneSchoolSystem.org)
From: Leonard Baak
To: Ottawa Citizen Letters Editor *** SUBMITTED ONLY, NOT PRINTED ***
Sent: Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Subject: Re: Ruling ignored, Oct 18/05
Funding non-Catholic religious education is not the only way to comply with the UN Human Rights Committee ruling against Ontario's discriminatory school system. They indicated we could also chose to fund no denominational religious education at all.
One school system would deliver religious equality in a manner more in keeping with the McGuinty Government's recent action on religious arbitration. It would also eliminate the costly duplication that prevents our school system from reaching its full academic potential. The Government should complete the process they started in 2003, when they eliminated funding for all but Roman Catholic religious education.
Leonard Baak
President, Education Equality in Ontario (www.OneSchoolSystem.org)
From: Leonard Baak
To: Ottawa Citizen Letters Editor *** SUBMITTED ONLY, NOT PRINTED ***
Sent: Sunday, October 16, 2005
Subject: Re: Lubicon natives head to UN seeking end to treaty dispute, Oct 16/05
Chief Bernard Ominayak might want to brace himself and his band for disappointment if they are counting on the UN Human Rights Committee to deliver justice for them. It wouldn't be like the Canadian Government and its provincial counterparts haven't shown contempt for the judgments of that body before. The UN Human Rights Committee condemned the religious discrimination in the Ontario school system in 1999, but that injustice has yet to be remedied. After initially urging Ontario to comply with the UN ruling, the Federal Government has done nothing to ensure or even encourage compliance. Instead, federal politicians routinely brush off questions on the matter or do not answer at all. Ontario Catholics continue to enjoy superior education rights, which were made even more superior by the current provincial government when they eliminated funding for all but Catholic religious education in 2003. If the Canadian Government can stand by silently while the equality rights of over 7 million Ontarians are violated, what hope does a small band of native Canadians have? I wish them well, but I hope they don't hold their breath.
Leonard Baak
President, Education Equality in Ontario (www.OneSchoolSystem.org)
From: Leonard Baak
To: Ottawa Citizen Letters Editor *** SUBMITTED ONLY, NOT PRINTED ***
Sent: Thursday, October 06, 2005
Subject: Re: PM to begin "forceful advocacy", Oct 6/05
Perhaps when the Prime Minister is "respectfully, but unequivocally" telling the US to honour NAFTA, the US might in turn tell Canada to respect the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It was six years ago next month that Canada was found to violate the equality rights of its own citizens by virtue of the superior education rights of Ontario Catholics. The US was only recently found to violate NAFTA. Perhaps they can cite Canadian precedent in taking their jolly old time in living up to their international obligations. We could be their role model.
Leonard Baak
President, Education Equality in Ontario (www.OneSchoolSystem.org)
From: Leonard Baak
To: Ottawa Citizen Letters Editor *** SUBMITTED ONLY, NOT PRINTED ***
Sent: Saturday, October 01, 2005
Subject: Re: Bush mocks free trade pact, Martin says, Oct 1/05
Perhaps Canada would have a stronger hand in encouraging US compliance with international trade rules if we couldn't be accused of flouting other international rules ourselves. For nearly six years, Canada and Ontario have ignored an international ruling that Ontario's school system violates the rights of non-Catholics to equality before the law and to freedom from discrimination. Addressing our own shortcomings with respect to our international obligations could only enhance our efforts to take other nations to task for theirs. It appears, however, that "the injury we do and the one we suffer are not weighed in the same scales." ~Aesop, Fables.
Leonard Baak
President, Education Equality in Ontario (www.OneSchoolSystem.org)
From: Leonard Baak
To: Globe & Mail Letters Editor *** SUBMITTED ONLY, NOT PRINTED ***
Sent: Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Subject: Re: Ontario deficit shrinking fast, Sep 27/05
While it is always wonderful to hear that a government deficit came in lower than expected, Ontarians should temper their elation with the knowledge that it could have been even lower had the government acted to eliminate the massive duplication in our school system. Prudence demands that the cost of dual publicly-funded school systems be measured, but keeping us in the dark is likely part of a political strategy to keep the separate system in place.
If Ontarians knew the real cost of superior Catholic education rights, they would have some idea of what it does and has cost them in lost opportunities. Those rights would then quickly come to an end. Ignorance is the separate system's best friend.
Leonard Baak
President, Education Equality in Ontario (www.OneSchoolSystem.org)
From: Leonard Baak
To: Ottawa Citizen Letters Editor *** SUBMITTED ONLY, NOT PRINTED ***
Sent: Saturday, September 24, 2005
Subject: Re: Time to study our mosaic, Sep 24/05
Respect for community should not override respect for the individual freedoms, yet that is exactly what continues to occur within the confines of Ontario's school system. The McGuinty Government's recent decision on religious arbitration has prompted some much needed reflection on our time-honoured tradition of discrimination in education.
How can we continue to uphold the superior education rights of a non-disadvantaged minority when the corollary of doing so is to show contempt for the rights of all citizens to equality before the law and to freedom from discrimination? The latter rights are fundamental and are supposed to be universal.
The Ontario Human Rights Commission is currently conducting a review of the province's human rights system against United Nations standards. Against those standards, it clearly fails to measure up. Whether the public report on the review addresses those shortcomings will reveal whether the exercise was sincere or a whitewash. I pray for sincerity.
Leonard Baak
President, Education Equality in Ontario (www.OneSchoolSystem.org)
Eye Weekly - published online on Sep 22/05, headline: Secular government
Secular government
Your editorial "Church and state" (Sept. 15) spoke volumes of wisdom. The people of Ontario would do well to listen.
If the McGuinty government's commitment to religious equality is genuine, they will follow their action on religious arbitration by completing the work they started in 2003: eliminating public funding for all religious schools.
The constitutional "obligation" so often used to excuse special education rights for Ontario Catholics can quickly be eliminated. A constitutional amendment to remove that obligation can be secured through a simple bilateral agreement between Ontario and Ottawa alone. Both Quebec and Newfoundland obtained such agreements in the 1990s, prior to eliminating denominational schools and reorganizing their school systems for equality and fiscal responsibility. It's time Ontario followed suit.
LEONARD BAAK, PRESIDENT, EDUCATION EQUALITY IN ONTARIO
From: Leonard Baak
To: National Post Letters Editor *** SUBMITTED ONLY, NOT PRINTED ***
Sent: Thursday, September 22, 2005
Subject: Re: Multi-faith school funding supported, Sep 21/05
If tax credits are acceptable equivalents to the fully-funded school choices Ontario Catholics enjoy, then they should be willing to accept them themselves. A tax credit would otherwise not deliver equity.
The situation created by the previous government's tax credit was the equivalent of a prepaid full voucher for Ontario Catholics and a half-voucher (not prepaid) for other groups. It was a half-measure designed as much to silence complaints about discrimination as it was to address that discrimination. It would likely not have addressed Canada's standing violation of international human rights law by virtue of Ontario's discriminatory school system. Such a credit could also be removed at a whim, as recent history has illustrated.
Their must be "one law for all Ontarians." Tax supported "parental choice" must be available to all or to none. Using the separate school model, "all" is simply not feasible. The removal of superior education rights for Ontario Catholics is an essential prerequisite to the creation of any truly equitable school system. Equity cannot exist when non-disadvantaged minorities enjoy superior rights.
Leonard Baak
President, Education Equality in Ontario (www.OneSchoolSystem.org)
National Post Letter - printed Sep 19/05, headline: Remove separate schools' silver spoon
Remove separate schools' silver spoon
Re: Separating church and classroom, Adam Radwanski, Sept. 16. (follow link to read editorial)
This article should help shatter the myth that Ontario's constitutional "obligation" to fund separate schools would be difficult to remove. Politicians have relied on that myth to excuse inaction on the discrimination in our school system for far too long. Not only can the constitution be changed in this regard, but it can be done with blinding speed.
The Constitution Amendment, 1998 (Newfoundland Act), which enabled the elimination of denominational schools in Newfoundland, was proclaimed a mere 4 months after being requested by the Newfoundland legislature. The Quebec process took slightly longer due to greater public consultation (Newfoundland held a referendum). Vested special interests in both provinces challenged the reforms in court and lost, setting precedents that would speed the process for Ontario.
While the removal of a silver spoon invariably produces a cry from a son of privilege, the outcry might not be nearly as loud and broad as some would think. Both Quebec (83% Catholic) and Newfoundland (37% Catholic) had proportionally larger vested interests than Ontario (34% Catholic). Residents of both provinces approved of the removal of denominational school rights by a large margin (as measured in polls and a referendum).
The discrimination in our school system is untenable: the corollary of upholding the special privileges of a non-disadvantaged minority is to show utter contempt for the fundamental rights of all citizens to equality before the law and to freedom from discrimination. The duplication in our school system is not without cost. It's time the Ontario Government did something about both.
Leonard Baak
President, Education Equality in Ontario, Ottawa.
National Post Letter - printed Sep 17/05, headline: End all faith-based school funding
End all faith-based school funding
Re: Ontario's Forgotten Students, Noam Goodman, Sept. 13.
Mr. Goodman's view of the past is somewhat self-serving. The protection of "cultural diversity" was not a founding principle of Canada, at least with respect to religion. Religiously, the society of the day was simply not that diverse. 19th century Canadians were overwhelmingly practicing Christians who insisted that school programs include a religious component. Separate schools arose to ensure that neither Catholic nor Protestant children would be subject to instruction by teachers of the other "religious persuasion." Separate school rights were enshrined in the constitution to assuage fears that Catholic children would eventually be subjected to Protestantism (or the reverse in Quebec).
The secular public schools of today are by definition religiously neutral. Instead of funding further religious segregation and compounding the duplication premium already borne by the taxpayer, the government should end all such segregation. The money saved would allow education to be improved for all Ontario children and the end of segregation would create truly neighbourhood schools.
Leonard Baak
President, Education Equality in Ontario, Ottawa.
Toronto Star Letter - printed Sep 14/05, headline: Take next step to equality
Take next step to equality
Re: McGuinty: No sharia law, Sep 12
I agree that Premier Dalton McGuinty deserves credit for opting to treat members of every faith group equally, but that is not true in general. In Ontario's school system, equality continues to be elusive. Roman Catholics remain the only faith group to enjoy full funding for religious education.
It was the McGuinty government that reversed the less-than-equal level of support for religious education received by members of other faiths. Only Roman Catholics are guaranteed a choice between two publicly-funded schools (public and/or separate) wherever they choose to live in Ontario. Teaching positions in the publicly-funded separate school system are effectively closed to non-Catholics.
Yes, McGuinty deserves some credit for demonstrating a commitment to equality, but his actions this week can only be thought of as "a good start." If he really wants to treat members of all faiths equitably, the withdrawal of separate school funding should be the next step.
Leonard Baak
President, Education Equality in Ontario, Ottawa
Ottawa Citizen Letter - printed Sep 5/05, headline: Catholics privileged
Catholics privileged
Re: Catholics pay for schools, AUG. 24.
Letter-writer Edward Sugden shares a common misconception with many other Ontarians - believing that Catholic Ontarians pay for the special privilege of additional publicly funded educational opportunities.
The declaration of school support no longer has any effect on school board funding. Its purpose today is purely political. School boards are funded directly by the province, based on enrolment and other documented needs. Ontario Catholics and non-Catholics now bear exactly the same tax burden, but Catholics are guaranteed a choice, public and/or separate school, while non-Catholics are guaranteed only public school.
LEONARD BAAK, Ottawa,
President, Education Equality in Ontario
Ottawa Citizen Letter - printed Aug 19/05, headline: Separate schools still violate human rights
Separate schools still violate human rights
Re: UN reforms 'tailor-made' for Canada, Rock says, AUG.15.
Allan Rock, Canada's ambassador to the United Nations, is not alone in hoping the new UN human rights body "will have a more aggressive approach to the implementation of human rights."
Nearly six years after Canada was found in violation of Article 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the violation remains unresolved. Ontario Catholics continue to enjoy access to unparalleled choice in publicly funded education through the province's discriminatory separate school system. By virtue of that same school system, Canada also violates the terms of several other human rights instruments it has ratified or supported. These include the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. All confer specific rights and forbid religious discrimination in the application of those rights.
To demonstrate the "sincere commitment to do the right thing" that Mr. Rock speaks of, Canada and Ontario must ensure that the religious discrimination against Ontario's non-Catholics is finally addressed.
We believe the only fiscally responsible way to do that is to move toward one unified publicly funded school system without delay, as was done recently in Newfoundland.
It's better that we clean up our human rights record voluntarily than to have a rejuvenated and more powerful UN human rights body coerce us to do so.
LEONARD BAAK, Ottawa,
President, Education Equality in Ontario
From: Leonard Baak
To: Ottawa Citizen Letters Editor *** SUBMITTED ONLY, NOT PRINTED ***
Sent: Monday, April 18, 2005
Subject: Re: Charter's vow of 'equality for all' has reshaped Canada, Apr 17/05
The "Charter's vow of 'equality for all'" is at best a promise unfulfilled in Ontario, where religious discrimination continues to favour Ontarians of one faith group with unmatched choices and opportunities when it comes to admissions and employment in the province's publicly funded education sector. Every time a parent is told their child cannot attend a publicly funded school because of their religion or every time a teacher is told they "need not apply" because of their religion, an injury to the dignity of that parent, child, or teacher occurs that reminds them of their civil inferiority in this province. Ontario could prevent such injury by following the lead of Quebec and Newfoundland, provinces that in the past decade took the enlightened step of eliminating religious discrimination and segregation within their respective school systems. It is past time that Ontarians enjoyed equality of choice and opportunity in publicly funded education. It is past time that we had one school system in Ontario.
Leonard Baak
President, Education Equality in Ontario (www.OneSchoolSystem.org)
From: Leonard Baak
To: Ottawa Citizen Letters Editor *** SUBMITTED ONLY, NOT PRINTED ***
Sent: Wednesday, March 30, 2005
Subject: Re: Schooling, not schools, Mar 30/05
Your recent editorial touched on a problem that is widespread throughout Ontario. Declining enrolment is forcing school boards in many areas to consider closures as enrolments drop below the level of viability. I applaud the Catholic board for demonstrating good stewardship of their resources.
People for Education has produced at least two papers on the challenges faced by small schools, which include greater difficulties qualifying for full-time principals, teacher-librarians, and administrative staff. Small schools are also much less likely to have physical education or music teachers and generally have less access to psychologists, social workers, and speech pathologists.
If parents are interested in building truly neighbourhood schools, then perhaps a solution would be to stop segregating the student body by religion. If schools are really focal points in their communities, then right now Ontario communities have at least two each. Under one school system, neighbourhoods having both an under-enrolled public and separate school could build a real community focal point, a real neighbourhood school. That is also a whole lot more constructive than fighting for market share and demonstrates much better stewardship of the finite resources allocated to education.
Leonard Baak
President, Education Equality in Ontario (www.OneSchoolSystem.org)
Ottawa Citizen Letter - printed Mar 25/05, headline: Ontario's separate schools violate human rights
Ontario's separate schools violate human rights
Re: UN chief demands less talk, more action, MARCH 22.
It is nice to see the United Nations undertaking some self examination of its ability to promote and defend human rights.
A more effective mechanism than the UN human rights commission is certainly needed, but unless that mechanism can effectively encourage compliance with existing covenants and conventions, it is unlikely to do a better job than the existing commission it replaces.
Real pressure is needed to ensure member countries live up to their international obligations to defend the human rights of those within their borders; otherwise countries will continue to ignore those obligations.
Still, the recognition that there is a problem is the first step towards a solution. Perhaps Canada and Ontario will finally be pressured to resolve the standing UN condemnation of religious discrimination in the Ontario school system. Perhaps Ontario will finally follow the lead of other provinces by establishing a single school system that provides equal educational and employment opportunities to all of its citizens without discrimination.
LEONARD BAAK, Ottawa,
President, Education Equality in Ontario
Ottawa Citizen Letter - printed Nov 14/04, headline: Separate schools discourage harmony
Separate schools discourage harmony
Re: Education, not indoctrination, NOV. 8.
I applaud the Citizen editorial regarding educational indoctrination and agree with its conclusion that “the role of our schools is to educate children, not indoctrinate them.”
It is interesting to note that the indoctrination you cite is on a pretty small scale compared to the wholesale religious indoctrination of nearly half a million students in the province’s separate school system.
By virtue of its full public funding, the religious indoctrination of separate school students receives official government sanction. That funding would be better spent on nondenominational religious instruction for all students in a single school system, which would also do much to foster social harmony and mutual respect within the cultural mosaic that is Ontario.
Eliminating the duplication in our school system would also save money, a consideration that should not be lost on the Ontario government, struggling as it is to reconcile its ambitious campaign promises with the state of the province’s finances.
Why not eliminate indoctrination and inefficiency from our school system in one fell swoop? That discrimination would be eliminated in the process is a bonus.
GERAINT JONES, Ottawa
Ottawa Citizen Letter - printed Oct 24/04, headline: Let's end discrimination in Ontario's school system
Let's end discrimination in Ontario's school system
Re: France expels Muslim girls from schools, Oct. 21.
The French government's lack of respect for religious minorities is truly abhorrent, but is it any more loathsome than Ontario's treatment of most religious minorities?
In Ontario, one religious minority, the largest and arguably the least in need of protection, has been elevated to a position of privilege above all others through the public funding of its own school system. Members of that minority pay the same taxes as everyone else, but they are guaranteed two educational choices for their money while the rest of us, two-thirds of the Ontario population, are guaranteed only one. The separate school system discriminates against non-Catholics in both admissions and hiring. Its very existence, without a similar privilege for every other religious group, violates Sections 2(a) and 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Article 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. An outstanding international condemnation of the discrimination in the Ontario school system (UN Human Rights Tribunal, November 1999) remains unresolved. That an archaic constitutional relic, Section 93 of the BNA act, permits the discrimination to continue under domestic law in no way excuses it. Continuing this discrimination under the cover of Section 93 cannot be reconciled with the "rights" in the Canadian Charter.
It is high time the Ontario and federal governments gave the Charter its rightful pre-eminence in the Constitution. Are our rights really rights or something less than that? It is time to follow the lead of Quebec and Newfoundland, which eliminated religious discrimination from their school systems in the 1990s. Ontario needs a single, strong, publicly funded school system that accepts all children and favours none. Let's clean up our own house, and then we can criticize human rights abuses in other school systems with a clear conscience.
Leonard Baak, Stittsville,
Director, Education Equality in Ontario
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