Non-Christians and non-religious groups comprise almost 35% of our population. Saskatchewan is an increasingly diverse society. Any disruption caused by the movement of non-Catholics from separate schools is a product of the unilateral (and relatively recent) decision of Catholic schools to admit those students. Saskatchewan public schools believes the law is to be respected and upheld. It is also unfair to blame public schools or the court for the steps needed to abide by Canada’s Constitution. After a lawsuit began, the Saskatchewan public boards participated in a three-year mediation process to resolve the issue in a less-contentious manner. This was cancelled at the 11th hour due to political pressure from the province’s Catholic boards. In 2005, Saskatchewan’s public boards reached agreement with the government of the day to make a constitutional reference to the Court of Appeal in order to resolve this issue without the need for a lawsuit. These efforts included meetings with successive ministers of education. Since the 1990s, Saskatchewan public schools have been asking the government to obtain an authoritative determination of the “mandate question.” Every effort was made by public schools to avoid this issue being taken to court.
In rural areas, the creation and expansion of Catholic “separate” schools, such as in Theodore, and the creation of a Protestant “separate” school in Englefeld have impeded school boards in making hard, but necessary choices to ensure the development of the best systems for all residents. In urban centres, the loss of students has made public schools less efficient, undermined transportation policies, prevented the closure of unviable schools, and resulted in open competition for students – at significant expense to taxpayers.
In all of these instances, the public school system has been gravely compromised. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Manage Print Subscription / Tax Receipt.
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