Tax dollars being used to support denominational schools in Edmonton
Tuesday January 04, 2011
Brent Kelly
Did you know that your tax dollars are being used to support denominational schools in Edmonton? This violates basic principles of fairness and equality. Government should not support or endorse any form of religion. Religion is a private matter, not a public one. Religious schools should not get a major portion of their funds from the taxpayer’s pocket.
Having segregated denominational schools also violates a core Canadian principle – multiculturalism. When children are segregated off from one another, they are denied the chance to experience other religions, values, and customs. Becoming comfortable with diversity is crucial to becoming a well-adjusted Albertan in an ever more diverse Canada, and an ever smaller world. We can no longer afford to keep our children hidden away from one another.
Diversity is a reality in Canada but it is also an asset. Being able to function well in modern Canadian society requires that young Edmontonians be comfortable with others who look different, talk differently, and believe different things. Segregating our children when they’re young – only to have them face diversity in the workplace or in post-secondary education – is not going to make our country more peaceful, equitable, or multicultural. By segregating our children, we are fracturing the precious Canadian cultural mosaic that helps keep our society together.
So, should people have the right to send their children to religious schools? Well, of course. Nobody should be told what school they can or cannot send their children to. If parents want to send their children to a religious school, that’s their prerogative. If they don’t feel the public system provides the education they want for their children, as a community they’re welcome to set up religious schools, or send their children to existing religious schools. But they should not be able to do so at the cost of fairness and equality. One religion should not be given priority over the others, which is the case in Alberta. Denominational schools are receiving public funds and two denominations specifically – Catholics and Protestants – enjoy a particularly large amount of privilege. This is unjust and unfair and runs contrary to multiculturalism. Religious education is allowable, but not when it is funded with taxpayer dollars, and certainly not when two religions are given favor over others.
Having attended Catholic schools my entire primary and secondary education, I know full well that denominational schools can provide quality education. But that’s not what’s at issue here. Of course denominational schools can provide quality education. As long as any school adheres to the educational oversight standards set by the government of Alberta, there shouldn’t be a problem with educational quality. But, again, should denominational schools be funded using taxpayer dollars? If we want multiculturalism to flourish, fairness to triumph, and tax dollars spent appropriately, the answer will have to be no.
I’m currently attending a public university – the University of Alberta. Looking back at my Catholic school years, I do genuinely feel that I missed out on a crucial component of my education. When I talk to the other people in my age group who attended public school, I feel disadvantaged. Not academically, but culturally. I wasn’t exposed to the diversity of beliefs and cultures that I would have been exposed to had I gone to public school. My experience was highly biased towards a small portion of the Canadian cultural mosaic, and, as a result, I find I frequently know less than my public school friends about the rich social fabric that makes up Canada.
If you want to find out why your tax dollars are being used to fund religious schools, you have to go all the way back to the 1867 Constitution. Section 93 of the Constitution Act describes privileges given to denominational schools. Perhaps, at the time, having denominational schools was a good thing. But even if that were the case then, times have changed. Things are different now. In the 21st century, having denominational schools is costly, unfair, and contrary to multiculturalism.
There are many civil society organizations across Canada that are fighting to end the segregation of our children. In some provinces fairness has been restored - Newfoundland and Labrador have recently done away with the archaic system, and Manitoba got rid of it way back in 1896. British Columbia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia have never had state-funded school segregation.
Even former Alberta Education Minister, Dave King, is fighting to restore equality to Alberta’s education system. He has launched a campaign to disestablish the unjust separate school system in Alberta. His website is an excellent resource for those who want to learn more about what is wrong with our system, and how we can start making things right. His website, and a petition to end the segregation of our children, can be found at http://www.separateschooleducation.ca
Fighting alongside Dave is the international non-profit organization Centre for Inquiry. CFI is a charitable education organization that promotes secularism, science, reason, free inquiry and free expression at all levels of society and government. There are numerous national branches open throughout Canada, and Edmonton is home to one of the newest branches. If you want to help end the archaic system that segregates schoolchildren in our country, I strongly encourage you to support CFI by getting involved in the local branch or becoming a Friend of the Centre. For more information feel free to email us at CFI.Edmonton@gmail.com, join our facebook group, or check out the CFI Canada website at http://www.cficanada.ca/
I strongly urge you to learn more about the issue, discuss it with others, sign Dave’s petition, or get involved with the Centre. Our children embody the future of Canada, and the longer we keep them segregated, the more we risk damaging the diverse, equitable, and fair Canada that our ancestors worked so hard to create.
Brent Kelly
Chair, CFI Edmonton
Column ID#: 145
**Opinions expressed by guest columnists do not necessarily reflect the views of Connect2Edmonton members, partners or sponsors.**
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