The school reform in Ontario will go on, with no backtracking about the public funding of Catholic schools, according to Ontario Minister of Education Janet Ecker. In her interview, Ecker also touches upon relations with the unions and with the Federal government. Minister Ecker, some people thought that the government of Ontario could follow the lead of Newfoundland and Quebec in funding only public schools. Ontario had a very different situation from the legal and constitutional point of view.
Catholic education is guaranteed directly in our Constitution.
This is why we have a funding system for Catholic schools similar to that for public schools. We have different commitments, based on a legal compromise struck many years ago. Our commitments are different from those of Quebec, Newfoundland, and the Maritime Provinces. The other reason for granting a tax credit to parents sending their children to private schools of various religious or cultural denominations was to allow them to choose the school they preferred. We think that parents can make better choices for their children than the government.