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Civil Rights in Public Education www.CRIPEweb.org |
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Research Note #9 Ontario province-wide School Referendum The "ONTARIO SCHOOL REFERENDUM" newspaper ads, which first appeared in the Ottawa Citizen in December of 1997, and again in the Windsor Star and the London Free Press in the spring of 1998, have appeared in every daily newspaper in Ontario except the Globe & Mail and the National Post. In order to complete coverage of the province, some weeklies were included. The first poll was prompted by Newfoundland's 1997 referendum on church control of the province's fully denominational school system and was timed to appear during the joint Commons-Senate Committee hearings on the constitutional change Newfoundland requested in order to accommodate the will of the people. For those who did not see the referendum ad in their local daily paper, it is reprinted on the attachment. Note on the ballot that "Respondents who wish to stay informed on this issue." were "asked to include their name and address with the ballot." This has resulted in our mailing list swelling by over 1500 names. Although we claim no statistical accuracy for this write-in newspaper poll, the resulting message from 7551 individuals from all across the province cannot be dismissed. It is clear to us that seventy-nine percent of the citizens of Ontario favour one public school system with privilege or prejudice to no one. If this is not clear to others, we suggest they conduct their own poll. Abuse Minimized To minimize abuse of the ballots we accepted only one ballot per envelope and no photocopies. We also avoided newspaper issues which have a free distribution. Although we made this effort to minimize abuse, we cannot guarantee that abuse was eliminated. Regardless, all ballots which passed the "one ballot per envelope and no photocopy" test, were counted and recorded. Thirty-two ballots were returned without being marked "yes" or "no" and considered "spoiled." Many letters were received with the ballots and answered where appropriate. This initiative cost Civil Rights in Public Education, Inc. $80,000. Official admits Roman Catholics would lose In the flurry of publicity which followed, Dr. John Flynn, executive secretary of the Canadian Catholic School Trustees Association, asserted that “there is no need for a referendum on abolishing the separate school system in Ontario” because “the majority would trample the minority and the Roman Catholics would lose.” Strange how Roman Catholic officials admit they’d lose in a referendum, yet try to intimidate politicians into believing a policy to remove public funding from RC schools would lose them votes. One of the dictionary meanings of "democracy" is ". .a government elected and thus controlled by the people. ." with ". .ideals and principles . . such as equality of rights and opportunities and the rule of the majority." (Underlining added) We have found that almost 80% of Ontarians prefer one public school system. All political parties in Ontario knew this; their polls tell them the same thing. In the election which followed, all major parties ignored the separate-school funding issue. The majority view on the school question was not allowed a voice. Using the above dictionary definition then, Ontario is not a democracy and we do not have a democratic say in how we are governed. Referendum results (The newspaper ads were approximately 11” by 17” with the “yes” and “no” arguments in side-by-side columns. The content is reproduced below) ONTARIO SCHOOL REFERENDUM Here is an opportunity for readers of this newspaper to vote on a question similar to the one asked of Newfoundlanders in their 1997 referendum on church control of schools. How would YOU, as an Ontario citizen, vote on this question?* "Do you favour a public school system where all children, regardless of their religious affiliation, attend the same schools where opportunities for religious education, not specific to a religious denomination, may be provided?” (left-hand column) For the “YES” side: Brian Tobin, Roman Catholic, Premier of Newfoundland The Globe and Mail, Wednesday, Set. 3, 1997, concerning religious schools in Newfoundland "Do we want teachers hired or fired any more on the basis of religion? "Do we want school board elections that elect school board members on the basis of religion? "I believe it's time to allow all of our children, of every denomination, to sit in the same classroom, in the same schools, to ride the same bus, to play on the same sports teams, to live and learn together in the same community. "I believe it's time to hire our teachers because they're competent, caring and committed to our children, not because of their religion." William Davis, Former Premier of Ontario Public statement. August 31st, 1971 If…the Government of Ontario were arbitrarily to decide to establish and maintain, out of public funds, a complete educational system determined by denominational and religious considerations, such a decision would fragment the present system beyond recognition and repair, and do so to the disadvantage of all those who have come to want for their children a public school system free of a denominational or sectarian character.” Request for ruling on legality of separate schools under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights A complaint has been accepted as valid and is now working its way through the United Nations Human Rights Committee in Geneva. The complaint asks for a ruling on the legality, under international, human rights law, of public funding in Ontario for the Roman Catholic separate school system. It is alleged that Ontario's school funding policy violates five articles of the above Covenant. Standing Committee on Public Accounts Hearings on Report of the Provincial Auditor, January, 1994. Using dollar values from this committee since 1985, the funding to the Roman Catholic separate school system has cost Ontario taxpayers over $3.8 billion in extra operating and capital costs. The Ministry of Education has said: "The grants paid to separate school boards to finance extension was established at $200 million for 1991 and future years." (right-hand column) For the "NO" side: Sean Conway, Roman Catholic, former Minister of Education who introduced full funding for Roman Catholic separate high schools (Bill 30). Statement to the Ontario Legislature, July 4,1985: "The proposal to extend public funds to enable the completion of the Roman Catholic secondary system beyond grade 10 has generated considerable public debate. It is now time to emphasize the common ground that we share. I remind all members of the rare unanimity of the parties represented here which converted this historic initiative into today's reality. In proposing the extension of funding as it did, the government of Mr. William Davis made it possible for this province to move forward with this reform in relative harmony and without political division." "In pursuing excellence in education, the separate and public school systems each have a distinct mission. Together, they must respond to public expectations about programs and access and standards and quality. Individually, they must nurture a particular set of constitutionally protected rights. Together, they provide Ontarians with a comprehensive educational system guaranteeing equality of opportunity for all our children. With this in mind, there are six principles which provide the basis for the proposals embodied in this bill. " "The first principle is the need to protect the viability of the public secondary school system." "Secondly, the spirit and the letter of the constitutional guarantees must be made explicit in our provincial legislation for education. " "Third, in implementing this policy the interests of students in all our schools must be first and foremost." "The fourth principle in this legislation is that there be no unemployment as a direct result of the policy extending funding." "The fifth principle is that the distinctive mission of the Roman Catholic separate school system must be maintained. " "Finally, adequate provisions must be made to ensure an orderly and cost-effective transition." "Given the three-party commitment this House has made, then, to Roman Catholic students, parents, trustees, and boards, I trust that the people of Ontario will see the necessity of this approach." _____________________________________________________ * Newfoundland's schools are controlled by eight religious denominations, whereas Ontario's government-funded school boards are separated into five categories as follows: 31 English language and 4 French-language public boards, 29 English-language and 8 French-language Roman Catholic boards, and 37 small jurisdictions usually operating a single school. _____________________________________________________ Sponsored by: Civil Rights in Public Education, Inc.
The Humanist Association of Canada
Endorsed by:
Human Rights Institute of Canada
Renfrew County Public School Board
Rainbow District School Board
REFERENDUM BALLOT
Do you favour a public
school system where all children, regardless of their religious affiliation,
attend the same schools where opportunities for religious education, not
specific to a religious denomination, may be provided?
Respondents who wish to stay informed on
this issue,
Are asked to include their name and
address with the ballot.
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