No public money for teaching religion

RE: It’s time for one school system (July 13)

Thanks to The Spec for publishing news and letters stating the time has arrived to implement one school system in Ontario.

Religious teaching is not an educational requirement. It is the responsibility for parents to freely choose the faith they wish to follow and communicate to their family the values of their choice.

Public dollars should not fund religious teachings. The current Ontario education system is financially unaffordable, duplicitous and blatantly discriminatory in Ontario’s multicultural society. The current education system uses public dollars to fund one religious faith (Catholicism) to the exclusion of all other faiths.

In order to achieve teaching employment in the Catholic system, one must be Catholic.

The writer of the July 13, 2017 opinion piece has clearly and factually put forth a very strong case why a oneschool system is the way forward for Ontario’s student population — the right to choose a true educational experience in the language of their choice, French or English. This should be a must-read for all Ontario political parties.

A single school system will be a major issue in the 2018 Ontario provincial election. The party that has the intestinal fortitude to address the change in the current educational system will be rewarded at the polls. Bill Thompson, Ancaster