Can’t be ‘private’ with public funds

Re: NDP’s attack on religious schools violates the Charter, Corbella, Oct. 3

I find it odd that people are crying foul over violations of religious freedom in that some private, religious schools are not complying with GSAs mandates and may lose their funding by the Government of Alberta. When in fact the term “private” should indicate that these schools are aligned with freemarket economics, which means there shouldn’t be a reliance on taxpayers and the public sphere to prop them up in the first place.

While I have great respect for private schools which focus on helping students with complex needs, if people want to run religious schools their own way and based on their own private beliefs, their dependency for funding should rest on their own shoulders. Parents should have a choice in education, but taxpayers should not be forced into paying for schools which don’t fully support section 15 of the Charter: equality rights.

Brett Dibble, Calgary