Civil Rights in Public Education www.CRIPEweb.org

THE  NON– ANSWER

Ministry of Education, Toronto and Area District Office.

April 3, 2005

Dear Mr. Patterson:

            Your letter to the Honourable Gerard Kennedy, Minister of Education, has been forwarded to me for reply.

            Roman Catholic separate schools have existed in Ontario for over 140 years in accordance with laws made prior to and at the time of Confederation. The Constitution Act, 1867 (formerly the British North America Act, 1867) guarantees Ontario Roman Catholics the right to govern the education of their children.

            The concept of a single school system for Ontario would probably necessitate amendments to the Constitution Act, 1867. Kindly be advised that the Government of Ontario has no plans to adopt a single school system. The government respects the constitutional rights of Roman Catholics in Ontario, and will therefore continue to fund the Roman Catholic separate school system.

Yours

            (signed)

John De Fazio

District Manager

Toronto and Area District

            Is it ignorance, or is it some sort of strategy?  The point of my question was totally ignored.

            This response was very defensive, typical of any inquiry to government with regard to any topic concerning any reference to the separate school system.

            For instance, when I phoned the Ministry of Education’s North Bay/Sudbury District Office to inquire about White River, I spoke to a Ministry official and said that I was doing some research on some schools in the north and asked a question.  The immediate response was: “I’m sorry, you’re calling from Pembroke, you’re doing some research — what sort of research?”  “On….some schools.”  “For whom are you doing this?”  “For...myself, I‘m interested in  a school situation in White River and I‘m trying to find out all I can about the situation.” “Have you been hired by someone in White River?”  “No….no I haven‘t”  “OK and um…”

            Then I got into the details of why I was calling and – with very much care – she answered.  When I indicated there were public meetings in White River to decide what to do after the Public school closure, I said that it was agreed that Public school students would be allowed to opt out of religious instruction.  She then said: “No, no, I don’t think it was on receiving religious instruction per se, as much as catechism and so on, and the sacraments.” 

            “It would be a Board decision” on whether students could opt out of religious instruction.  She emphasized that as long as the Education Act was not violated, the Boards could work out anything between them they wished.  “The partnership in White River has been, overall, successful, and we don’t intervene in that case.”

ON  YOUR  OWN

            The bottom line is that any student in a Roman Catholic school, for whatever reason, has no Public advocate. 

            The Public student is not represented by the Public Board.

            Recourse for any grievance goes up the line of authority of the Roman Catholic Board — from principal, to superintendent, to director of education. 

            There is no one to advocate for the religious rights guaranteed in the Charter of Rights — Public students in Roman Catholic schools are on their own.

THE  UP  SIDE

            There is an up side.  When I spoke to the present principal, Kathleen Proulx, she acknowledged that there was a “problem” in 2002, mainly because the new principal assigned to St. Basil was from Sault Ste. Marie where a Roman Catholic school is a true Roman Catholic school.  Ms. Rebek was just doing her job — as she saw it.

            Ms. Proulx indicated that St. Basil was the only school in the province with a significant number of Public students and therefore with an opting-out arrangement such as theirs. 

            However, all is back to “normal” and Ms. Proulx, and parents with whom I spoke, indicate that there has been no trouble since the 2002 incident.  Mass is no longer held in the church, but at the school, and Public students are excused.  In fact, even Roman Catholic students can be excused from any religious sacrament or religious instruction.

            The school presently accommodates 87 students in 5 dual classrooms with a 53% / 47% Roman Catholic / Public split.  There are Roman Catholic and Public teachers and Educational Assistants.  Even a former principal was a Protestant. 

            But, Ms. Proulx admitted, the school is visibly a Roman Catholic school, with appropriate pictures and symbols.  The Public students therefore grow up in this atmosphere.  Young people are impressionable, and one wonders how much of this foreign religious belief rubs off on them.

THE  NUMBERS  PROBLEM

            Declining enrolments across the province mean significant school closings.  The Renfrew County District (Public) School Board has announced that SIX elementary schools, and possibly SEVEN, will close within the next year.  In Deep River, both elementary schools may close and students housed in renovated high-school classrooms.

            Already, some parents have announced that, to avoid busing small children, or sending them to the high school, they will attempt to register their students in St. Mary’s Roman Catholic school which remains open. 

            However, despite White River’s openness, in response to an inquiry, a letter from Cheryl St-Élier, principal at St. Mary’s, stated: “New students who are not Catholic must apply for entry to the board. Usually parents will come for an interview, because the application requires the principal's consent to register the student;  the reason for this is to ensure that the parents under-stand and agree to the Catholic nature of the school, the fact that the student would be required without exception, to participate in religious education, prayers, Mass etc.”

            The law allows this, but Roman Catholic schools/boards that face a declining enrolment problem may welcome others, indeed, advertise for others, to register with or without an arrangement to opt out of anything religious.  The reason is that each new elementary school student is worth $3,885 in grants.

CLOSE,  BUT  NOT  QUITE

            The previously stated ideal of any single school in a community being a Public school, is almost reached with Renfrew County’s Madawaska Valley District High School.  People in the town of Barry’s Bay and surrounding area are of largely Polish descent and are therefore predominantly Roman Catholic.

            To avoid busing high-school students 75 km to either Bancroft or Pembroke, there is one Public high school of  584 students in Barry‘s Bay, 80% of whom are said to be Roman Catholic.  The arrangement the Boards worked out for Roman Catholic students includes a Chaplaincy Program with a full-time Roman Catholic teacher/counsellor, and Roman Catholic courses in religion offered at the school by the Renfrew County Roman Catholic School Board.

            The only problem for the purist is that the Roman Catholic Church is given this position of primacy in a Public school.

THE  LAST  WORD

            Any situation in the public domain, which gives privilege to one group of citizens over all others, is a situation which violates our fundamental rights and “guaranteed” freedoms.

            For any parents who contemplate sending their children to a Roman Catholic school, the word is to be careful, and find out exactly what you are getting into.  Any opting-out arrangement should be an iron-clad written agreement.

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