Who can you trust to safeguard Catholic education?

Kris Dmytrenko

October 1, 2007
McGuinty, Tory, Hampton
I tried to play it cool. But, really, I was pretty thrilled to be riding a political campaign media bus. This wasn’t my usual beat.
It’s not often that Salt + Light covers the minutiae of election politics. But when Ontario PC leader John Tory endorsed extending government funding to all private religious schools, people of faith took notice. Since Catholic public schools receive exclusive funding privileges in Ontario, Tory’s plan would level the playing field for 53,000 Jewish, Islamic and Protestant students. But fairness, perversely, could also be achieved by eliminating Catholic schools. The Green Party of Ontario, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and the Toronto Star editorial board are perversely advocating the demolition of a thriving, high-achieving system.
Who can we trust to preserve Catholic education? On the campaign trail, we interviewed Education Minister Kathleen Wynne, PC leader John Tory and NDP leader Howard Hampton. Weighing their responses in-studio are Joe Sinisac (editor and publisher of The Catholic Register), Peter D. Lauwers (lawyer, expert in issues of faith in education), and Theresa Harris (Director of Education, Brant Haldimand Norfold Catholic District School Board). We also visit an Islamic high school in Mississauga.
Catholic Focus: "Faith Schools in Question" premieres Tuesday, October 2nd, at 7 & 11 PM ET, with an encore presentation this Sunday, October 7th, at the same times.