Opinionpiece
tothinkabout:
09
DREAM
In Ontario, public schools and Catholic schools are funded by the government. So why can’t the government fund all schools in Ontario? In total, Catholics and non-religious people take up approximately 62.6% of Canada’s population. So why are there not specifically funded schools for the other 10,077,071 Canadians?
Locally, there is a Jewish Community Day School called Kehila. They have always been short on money and only manage to stay afloat from donations. Last year, Kehila released letters to everyone somehow connected to Judaism begging for donations. Soon-after, they announced that they simply can not obtain the necessary funds needed to last another school year. This news was shocking to many; Kehila has a 15,000-dollar tuition fee and gets thousands of dollars every year from fundraisers. It is outrageous that this is not enough to educate fifty students and pay the salaries of ten teachers. However, the reality is that Kehila must pay for rent, the office staff’s and caretaker’s salaries, and school equipment. People are so desperate to have a specific education that they will pay 15,000 dollars to have their children learn in a measly hallway inside of a local synagogue. Now, since only two types of schools are funded by the government, the students at Kehila from Kindergarten to grade five will have to find new schools. Imagine yourself back in your elementary school. Now try to put yourself in the children from Kehila’s shoes. Imagine your friends, teachers, and religion all ripped away from you because your school does not have enough money.
Lack of funding should never be the cause for students having to leave schools in Canada. As Malcolm X once said: “Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today." The future lies within the younger generation, and if we do not offer more schools to accompany various beliefs, then cultures will be destroyed.
Having all schools funded in Ontario will make taxes go up, but it is most definitely worth it. Would you rather have to spend a couple hundred more dollars a year, or not be able to study with people who have similar cultures than you because you can not afford it? If Canada is to be an equal country, indeed, every religion must have their own funded schooling system. It is simply unfair for families who are not Catholic to have to pay taxes that go towards Catholic schools, while also paying private school fees for their children’s educations. Not funding all schools is a breach of social contract on the part of the government, and a terrible case of unequal distributive justice. The question of how wealth, income, and power should be answered (distributive justice), should not be according to specific peoples. All Canadians schooling systems should be entitled to government funding, unless we are happy living in a Utilitarian state, where the government acts for the greater good of the greatest number. Canada is a stunning and magnificent country, one that is respected for our multiculturalism. We as a nation must appeal for funding to all schools to maintain that status. Together, we can make a difference, and reject utilitarian ideals.