Novocastrian

I suggest you look up the Canadian Constitution. Catholics have no special legal and historical rights under it. They did under its predecessor, the British North America Act of 1863 (or was it 7?). Which originally only applied to Upper Canada (Ontario) and Lower Canada (Quebec). I've mentioned this 3 times now. I don't think you're listening.

Souvenir

7

Novocastrian

Thank you. BTW I've just lived through a near-death experience. I'm <ahem> w*rkng from home today and all of my cable services (interwebby, TV, home phone) went out for about 30 minutes. Absolutely terrifying.

Luckily, my cell phone was working, so I was able to call Mel Lassman to ask for advice.

triumphguy

I didn't know you were lecturing me!

I kinda tuned you out based on you not giving a damn about your facts.

Furthermore: I never suggested Catholics as a group have special rights. They have rights to publically funded education based ion the Manitoba Act.

And to the original poster, whether or not he has rto pay a fee.

Much depends on your province.

Souvenir

30 minutes? Good grief!

Are you recovered now, or do you need the paramedics?

I'm having one of those days, too. The corrections I'd been expecting to be awaiting my return are still at Heathrow, according to Fedex, so I'm a bit stuffed. I'm not really but it's a reasonable excuse.

clynnog

I didn't know that Mel's fiefdom extended up to the 'Hill'.

DaveLovesDee

Apparently, they're considering a store up that way.

Novocastrian

You did, more than once. But I don't have a problem with your particular set of beliefs, just to having public monies being spent on promulgating them.

Novocastrian

Poetic license, dear clynnog.

triumphguy

Well since you're in Ontario and I'm in Alberta your money ain't paying for my kids education whether public, private, catholic or non-denominational. So I'm happy to ease your heart.

Apart from education I have not claimed Catholics have any constitutional rights.

He said she said gets boring....

So I'll just let the thread drift into oblivion.....

I can't be arsed shoveling snow again!

Novocastrian

Put a hold on the paramedics. I found a rosary to finger.

Oakvillian

I think there's an inconsistency in your argument, Triumphguy. Separating "Catholics as a group" from "Catholic communities" is semantics, and weak semantics at that.

The argument, as I see it, is that under the present system Catholics are the the only faith grouping that has a right to publicly funded education in Ontario (and I speak only of Ontario in this instance, as it's a province that has maintained this historical differentiator for Catholics). Other Christian denominations, or Jews, Muslims, Hindus - or, for that matter, Humanists or any other philosophal or pseudo-religious grouping - do not have a call on public funds, nor can their adherents opt out of paying for public school boards through municipal taxation form-filling in the same way as Catholics do. That is what is anachronistic and discriminatory here.

Souvenir

Oooh-errr missus.

stepnek

I haven't read all the posts here but I remember my 18 year old daughter last year getting it into her head that she wanted to change schools for her last few months to a local Catholic school. In my ignorance I was pretty horrified because we aren't Catholic and I assumed that if a Catholic school calls itself a Catholic school then it must be for a reason not least that those attend are Catholic.

Anyway against what I wanted she went ahead and inquired and it wasn't a requirement to be a Catholic to attend although in the end she decided to stay put.

You know it's so easy to end up lying and not being completely honest but I cannot relate in any way to parents pretending to be Catholic or even becoming one for the sole purpose of attending a school. There's no doubt in my mind that all state funded schools should be non-religious and if parents are religious that they take care of that particular need for their children at home. There should be plenty of time in the evenings or the weekends for that.

triumphguy

Oakvillian I don't believe that Catholics should be the only ones receiving that special "dispensation"

I'm just stating that they do, and it's based on history.

I understand in Ontario there is a move to change that, though the different sides are split about evenly.

Historically Ontario Catholics got that right, so Quebec protestants could have their own publically funded schools.