September 9, 2007 | In Politics |
Education policy, and most notably educational freedom, is already a hot-button issue in Ontario’s provincial election campaign, which officially kicks off tomorrow.
Conservative opposition leader, John Tory, promises that his government would fund faith-based schools, giving parents more economic freedom when it comes to their children’s education – something that current Liberal Premier, Dalton McGuinty has opposed throughout his time in office.
Policies surrounding school funding have a profound effect on taxpayers whose children attend private and faith-based schools which are not subsidized by the government. McGuinty’s government scrapped Ontario’s private school tax credit in 2003, forcing many children into public schools and taking away a significant amount choice and flexibility from parents.
The provincial government continues to fund Catholic faith-based schools, in addition to Ontario’s own public school system, but will not provide any support to parents who choose independent religious or secular private schools.
This conflict ultimately boils down to the personal freedom of parents to choose how their children will be educated versus the government’s statist attitude to socialized education.
“It’s such a small issue in the big picture, but it’s obviously pulling at the emotional strings of a lot of people,” commented executive director, Elaine Hopkins, of the Ontario Federation of Independent Schools.
The only fair solution is for provincial governments to provide meaningful tax rebates to parents who choose an accredited private school over the state-controlled public school system. Economically incentivizing parents to consider Ontario’s private schools, which already serve approximately 120,000 children, would ultimately shrink size of government and offer new choices and possibilities to parents and children.
