The Ontario government uses your tax money to pay for Catholic schools.

There are two main issues with this:

1. Discrimination: Giving tax money to Catholic schools is discrimination against all other religions that do not receive tax money for their schools
    
2. Waste of Tax Money: Having these two different school systems (Public and Catholic) is not efficient and estimated to cost us an EXTRA $1.5 BILLION in tax money EVERY YEAR, compared to if they were merged into one school system

 

The solution to these two issues is simple:

 

Stop using our tax money to pay for Catholic schools by merging the Catholic school system with the Public school system, so that there is ONLY THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM.  Other provinces have already stopped paying for Catholic schools, Ontario must do the same.  

 

Yes, you read that correctly.  Even though it is 2024, the Ontario government still chooses to practice religious discrimination AND forces us to waste billions of dollars of our tax money just so there can be a separate Catholic school system. 

 

• It doesn't matter if you are Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, Buddhist, atheist, agnostic, spiritual, or another religion:  If you live in Ontario, you are forced to pay for Catholic schools with your tax money. 

 

• Even the United Nations Human Rights committee has said that giving our tax money to Catholic schools is discriminatory. 

 

• Merging the Catholic school system with the Public school system would help end this discrimination against other religions, AND this merger is estimated to save us about $1.5 billion every year in taxes through efficiency gains and reducing waste. 

 

• Catholic schools could still exist in Ontario, but they should be paid for privately (NOT using tax money).  This is how other religious schools in Ontario are paid for, such as Jewish schools.  For example, the parents of Catholic school students can pay a tuition, and the Catholic church can pay for the Catholic schools too. 

 

We petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to take the necessary steps to stop the province from practicing religious discrimination by using our tax money to pay for Catholic schools, and instead merge the Catholic school system with the Public school system so that there is only the Public school system.

 

Thank you for taking the time to support this important change.

 

If you would like additional information, please continue to read below.

 

 

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Additional Information:

 

1. Eliminating the taxpayer-funded Catholic school system by merging it with the Public school system would require an amendment to the constitution.  This amendment has already been done by other provinces, and it is a fairly easy process.  The only thing stopping this amendment from happening is a lack of will by politicians in Ontario.

Government funding for Catholic schools was included in the constitution in 1867.  The world is a much different place in 2023 compared to 156 years ago in 1867, when women were not even allowed to vote.  Amendments to constitutions are normal, to adapt to changes in society. 

Links:

Does Constitutional Protection Prevent Education Reform in Ontario? (fraserinstitute.org)

The Constitutional Catholic Schools Issue in Ontario: How the Province of Ontario Could Remove its Obligations to Fully Fund Catholic Schools by Way of a Constitutional Amendment – Ottawa Law Review

Here’s what it would take to dissolve Ontario Catholic school boards | The Star
 
  

2. Merging the Catholic and Public school systems is estimated to save us billions of dollars in tax money.  The cost savings are largely due to efficiency gains and reducing waste from having one school system instead of two.  Note that the $1.5 billion per year amount was calculated in 2012, and so today the amount of savings would likely be even higher. 

Currently there are four main types of school boards:  31 English Public boards, 29 English Catholic boards, 4 French Public boards, and 8 French Catholic boards.  After the Catholic and Public systems merge, the number of these school board types would be cut in half from four to only two:  The English Public and French Public boards.  Note that there is also one very small Protestant school board that only has one school, which should also be a part of this merger with the Public school system.  

Links:

ONTARIO PUBLIC AND CATHOLIC SCHOOL MERGER STUDY

It's time to merge Ontario's two school systems
 

3. The United Nations already ruled way back in 1999 that using our tax money to pay for Catholic schools is discrimination:

Links:

UN says funding of Catholic schools discriminatory | CBC News
 

4. It doesn’t matter which school board you declare to "support" through your property taxes, your tax money still goes towards supporting both Catholic and Public school boards.  The property tax declaration allows you to vote for either the Catholic or Public school board trustees, but it does NOT mean your taxes are only used to pay for the selected school board. 

Links:

School funding: a guide for parents | ontario.ca

School boards can't tax in Ontario - The Globe and Mail

Bill 160, Education Quality Improvement Act, 1997 - Legislative Assembly of Ontario