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MOST ONTARIANS OPPOSE FAITH-BASED FUNDING: POLL
By Andy Levy-Ajzenkopf, Staff Reporter
Canadian Jewish News
Wednesday 19th of September 2007
Canada
TORONTO - With less than one month to go before the Oct. 10 vote, the
Conservative Party's faith-based education funding pledge continues
to be a central issue in the provincial election campaign.
Although it's popular with many people in the Jewish community and
with other religious communities across the province, Conservative
leader John Tory's promise to fund faith-based schools and make them
part of the public system is not playing well with the majority of
voters so far.
According to a Sept. 10 Ipsos Reid poll conducted for CanWest News
Service, 62 per cent of Ontarians "oppose the Ontario government
extending full funding to faith-based schools."
On the flip side, only 23 per cent of the province supported the
"status quo" of continued public funding of Catholic schools, while
53 per cent supported a "public school only" system.
Despite these results, the poll also showed that as of last week,
the Liberals were hanging on to 41 per cent of popular support with
the Conservatives a mere five percentage points behind at 36 per
cent. The New Democratic Party sat at 17 per cent and the Green Party
at six per cent.
An Aug. 21 Ipsos Reid poll indicated that ridings in and around the
Greater Toronto Area are the Liberals' main strongholds, while much
of the Conservative support comes from elsewhere in the province.
With the official election campaign kicking off last week, Jewish and
other faith groups were mounting offensives to promote faith-based
education funding with a slew of advertising and information campaigns.
>From Sept. 4 to Sept. 9, Canadian Jewish Congress aired a barrage of
televised and radio ads across Toronto that said the government's
funding of Catholic schools to the exclusion of other faith-based
schools is unfair.
Shortly after, the Ontario Conference of Catholic Bishops (OCCB)
issued a statement re-asserting its support for public funding of
faith-based schools.
"The public funding of Catholic schools recognizes that parents have
the right to make educational choices for their children, and that
the state should assist them," the conference stated.
The OCCB reiterated a position it took in 1989 on the matter, in
which it stated, "[T]he best education for all students impels us to
respect and support the wishes of parents in other faith communities
for religious education in the public school system or for alternative
schools which will reflect their values and beliefs."
The OCCB statement was lauded by David Koschitzky, vice-chair of
UJA Federation of Greater Ontario and also by the Public Education
Fairness Network, a newly created advocacy group representing Jewish,
Armenian, Sikh, Hindu and Muslim communities, and of which Koschitzky
is also member.
"This clear Catholic endorsement of government support for faith-based
schools opens a new chapter in our quest for fairness in a more
inclusive public education system in Ontario," he said. "This is a
giant stride toward the civil discussion needed on this issue."
The faith-based education funding issue has divided many voters along
strict "pro versus con" lines, but it's also led people who don't
fall on either side to seek creative solutions to the issue.
Josh Matlow, Toronto District School Board (TDSB) trustee for
St. Paul's, is pushing an alternative to Tory's funding plan that he
said would "explore the option of welcoming faith-based programming
into the public school board."
He had planned to present a formal motion on the issue to members
of the TDSB's program and school services committee for debate on
Sept. 11, but he withdrew it at the last minute, saying it wouldn't
have passed in the current environment.
"Right now, the [faith-based education funding] issue at the provincial
level is so full of rhetoric. My hope is that the issue is eventually
discussed in a way where thoughtful, considerate, reasonable people
have a frank discussion about the benefits of providing equity to
kids across Ontario. I don't see that happening during the election
[campaign] and so I don't want any part of that."
Matlow said he envisions "options" other than full public funding of
faith-based schools, and his motion sought to ask the board whether
"it may be prudent...
rather than [to] simply compete with private schools, take steps to
provide programming which will increase enrolment into the public
education system."
The resolution continued: "There are several models which we
could consider. One might be to create Jewish, Muslim, Hindu,
etc. 'immersion' or 'enrichment' programs at some of Toronto's public
schools, where there is interest and demand. Another model might
be to welcome some faith-based independent schools into the TDSB,
with full funding as allotted to every other TDSB school."
Matlow, who ran as a provincial Liberal candidate
against former premier Ernie Eves in a 2002 byelection in
Dufferin-Peel-Wellington-Grey riding, told CBC Radio that he was not
pressured to withdraw his motion.
"I'm a Liberal, but I don't agree with either of the party leaders," he
told The CJN. "I don't believe Tory's stand that we should be spending,
or even discussing spending, hundreds of millions of dollars outside
the public school board. But I equally disagree with McGuinty's view
that we should be defending the status quo. There's an inequity in
the province... We should not be funding faith education of one faith
to the exclusion of all others."
Matlow said he plans to reintroduce his motion during the current
school year, but after the election.
By Andy Levy-Ajzenkopf, Staff Reporter
Canadian Jewish News
Wednesday 19th of September 2007
Canada
TORONTO - With less than one month to go before the Oct. 10 vote, the
Conservative Party's faith-based education funding pledge continues
to be a central issue in the provincial election campaign.
Although it's popular with many people in the Jewish community and
with other religious communities across the province, Conservative
leader John Tory's promise to fund faith-based schools and make them
part of the public system is not playing well with the majority of
voters so far.
According to a Sept. 10 Ipsos Reid poll conducted for CanWest News
Service, 62 per cent of Ontarians "oppose the Ontario government
extending full funding to faith-based schools."
On the flip side, only 23 per cent of the province supported the
"status quo" of continued public funding of Catholic schools, while
53 per cent supported a "public school only" system.
Despite these results, the poll also showed that as of last week,
the Liberals were hanging on to 41 per cent of popular support with
the Conservatives a mere five percentage points behind at 36 per
cent. The New Democratic Party sat at 17 per cent and the Green Party
at six per cent.
An Aug. 21 Ipsos Reid poll indicated that ridings in and around the
Greater Toronto Area are the Liberals' main strongholds, while much
of the Conservative support comes from elsewhere in the province.
With the official election campaign kicking off last week, Jewish and
other faith groups were mounting offensives to promote faith-based
education funding with a slew of advertising and information campaigns.
>From Sept. 4 to Sept. 9, Canadian Jewish Congress aired a barrage of
televised and radio ads across Toronto that said the government's
funding of Catholic schools to the exclusion of other faith-based
schools is unfair.
Shortly after, the Ontario Conference of Catholic Bishops (OCCB)
issued a statement re-asserting its support for public funding of
faith-based schools.
"The public funding of Catholic schools recognizes that parents have
the right to make educational choices for their children, and that
the state should assist them," the conference stated.
The OCCB reiterated a position it took in 1989 on the matter, in
which it stated, "[T]he best education for all students impels us to
respect and support the wishes of parents in other faith communities
for religious education in the public school system or for alternative
schools which will reflect their values and beliefs."
The OCCB statement was lauded by David Koschitzky, vice-chair of
UJA Federation of Greater Ontario and also by the Public Education
Fairness Network, a newly created advocacy group representing Jewish,
Armenian, Sikh, Hindu and Muslim communities, and of which Koschitzky
is also member.
"This clear Catholic endorsement of government support for faith-based
schools opens a new chapter in our quest for fairness in a more
inclusive public education system in Ontario," he said. "This is a
giant stride toward the civil discussion needed on this issue."
The faith-based education funding issue has divided many voters along
strict "pro versus con" lines, but it's also led people who don't
fall on either side to seek creative solutions to the issue.
Josh Matlow, Toronto District School Board (TDSB) trustee for
St. Paul's, is pushing an alternative to Tory's funding plan that he
said would "explore the option of welcoming faith-based programming
into the public school board."
He had planned to present a formal motion on the issue to members
of the TDSB's program and school services committee for debate on
Sept. 11, but he withdrew it at the last minute, saying it wouldn't
have passed in the current environment.
"Right now, the [faith-based education funding] issue at the provincial
level is so full of rhetoric. My hope is that the issue is eventually
discussed in a way where thoughtful, considerate, reasonable people
have a frank discussion about the benefits of providing equity to
kids across Ontario. I don't see that happening during the election
[campaign] and so I don't want any part of that."
Matlow said he envisions "options" other than full public funding of
faith-based schools, and his motion sought to ask the board whether
"it may be prudent...
rather than [to] simply compete with private schools, take steps to
provide programming which will increase enrolment into the public
education system."
The resolution continued: "There are several models which we
could consider. One might be to create Jewish, Muslim, Hindu,
etc. 'immersion' or 'enrichment' programs at some of Toronto's public
schools, where there is interest and demand. Another model might
be to welcome some faith-based independent schools into the TDSB,
with full funding as allotted to every other TDSB school."
Matlow, who ran as a provincial Liberal candidate
against former premier Ernie Eves in a 2002 byelection in
Dufferin-Peel-Wellington-Grey riding, told CBC Radio that he was not
pressured to withdraw his motion.
"I'm a Liberal, but I don't agree with either of the party leaders," he
told The CJN. "I don't believe Tory's stand that we should be spending,
or even discussing spending, hundreds of millions of dollars outside
the public school board. But I equally disagree with McGuinty's view
that we should be defending the status quo. There's an inequity in
the province... We should not be funding faith education of one faith
to the exclusion of all others."
Matlow said he plans to reintroduce his motion during the current
school year, but after the election.