Education in Canada: The Need for the Separation of Church and State
This is a 7 page paper discussing the need for the separation of church and state in the educational system in Canada. Most provinces in Canada struggle with the incorporation of church and state in the educational system. Historically, the allowance for funding to religious based school systems can be traced back before Confederation and the Constitution Act of 1867. The Act required the public funding of Roman Catholics schools in Ontario. Despite the provincial funding of public and Catholic separate schools however, funding to school systems controlled by other religions has been denied; a practice which was deemed “discriminatory” by the United Nations in 1999. Funding of separate schools varies from province to province. In addition to the fact that “financial discrimination” is being practiced and can be argued to be in violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, recent studies have found that more than one educational system in a province is not cost efficient and by that reasoning alone should lead to the separation of church and state within the educational system. Private educational systems have also been found to not have the same provincial standards in regards to teacher qualifications and provincial exams among other inequities. Overall then, it can be argued that based on evidence of current discrimination, the need for the protection of the strength of the public school system, discrepancies in standards, democratic rights and the need for financial efficiency, there should be a separation of church and state within the educational system in Canada.
Bibliography lists 7 sources.
File: D0_TJCancs1.rtf
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