Faith, Rights and Choice: The Politics of Religious Schools in Canada

Faith, Rights and Choice: The Politics of Religious Schools in Canada Faith, Rights and Choice: The Politics of Religious Schools in Canada Jim Farney jim.farney@uregina.ca SSBA Trustees Meeting Nov 13 2023 1. [...] Q + A Canada Core Puzzle: Why is it that Canadian provinces have evolved and maintained different ways of governing, funding, and regulating religious schools? Core Answer: “...an evolution through historical periods where contention over faith, rights, and choice have defined political debate on this theme. [...] Evolution in the problems faced by policy-makers, and in the central issue of debate, led to changes in the institutional support…” (190) -Patterns of governance change driven both by gradual shifts within provinces (eg secularization) and by outside shocks to provincial politics (eg immigration or economic crisis). [...] Something of a complex transitional period Choice: Building of regimes ostensibly neutral on secular v religion regimes of government regulation and support based on support of parental choice from 1970s forward Province Contemporary Historical Path Ontario Public/Seperate Faith Quebec Public/Independent Faith, Rights, Choice PEI/NB/NS Public Faith Nfld and Public Faith Labrador Manitoba Public/In. [...] Rights in Saskatchewan Element of rights arguments, though not court test, in separate high school 1960s Francophone mobilization dates to 1912, but really gains post 1968 Tait Commission and cemented by 1990 Mahé Supreme Court decision Rights claims at heart of Good Spirit v Christ the Teacher Bill 89 School Choice Protection Act (2017) Choice in Saskatchewan Historic High Schools receiving varia.