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Opinion

Our kids deserve equality
There is clearly a continuing public demand for Catholic schools and the same option should be available to other faiths
The Toronto Star, Opinion, Jan. 31, 2005

By METROPOLITAN SOTIRIOS, AARON BLUMENFELD, M.D. KHALID AND RIPSODHAK SINGH GREWAL

With the recent flip-flop of the Quebec government on religious school funding, it's time to reconsider the issue in Ontario. Minority religious schools should be funded in Ontario not only to end the discrimination between Catholics and other religious groups, but also because our schools provide a necessary public service that public schools cannot offer.

In Western Canada and Quebec, faith-based schools receive substantial government funding.  More ..

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Canada's largest newspaper

One school system should satisfy all

Response letter to "Our kids deserve equality" opinion Jan. 31.

Opinion, The Toronto Star, Feb. 2, 2005

"Equalizing" the school system by awarding government funding to religious schools is as ridiculous as it is impractical. Such a policy is not only doomed to fail, it's just plain wrong. Where exactly would Archbishop Sotirios draw the line with regards to religious funding? How big does a religion have to be to receive government dollars? What of minor religions, super-cults, or non-religious secular humanists, who could all legitimately accuse the government of being marginalized?

Simply stating that this funding will not impact the public system does not make it so. Every dollar given to the Catholic school system is a dollar that could not be spent improving the public one. More ..