Inclusive environment?

Re: Editorial is dismissive, Jan. 26. In his letter, Marino Gazzola, president of the Ontario Catholic School Trustees’ Association states that the Roman Catholic separate system welcomes students … “regardless of their sexual orientation, gender, race or cultural background.” He conveniently omitted the word “religion.”

My children are not welcome in the separate system as Roman Catholic schools retain the “right” to exclude non-Roman Catholic children from enrolment. How is this “welcoming” or “inclusive”? Also, the Roman Catholic school system has the right to deny nonRoman Catholic teachers employment. The publicly funded Roman Catholic school system violates the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights and Sec. 2(a) and 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Citizen got it right when it labelled the Roman Catholic separate school system “anachronistic.” Surely, in the 21st century, we can agree that discriminating against non-Roman Catholic children and teachers on the basis of religion is wrong.

B.R. PATTERSON, Carleton Place