Catholic schools will appeal ruling on non-Catholic funding
Decision inconsistent with higher courts, says Catholic School Board Association
Christ the Teacher School Division, which operates out of Yorkton, will spearhead an effort to appeal the recent court decision to strip government funding from non-Catholic students attending Catholic schools.
Saskatchewan Catholic School Board Association spokesperson Tom Fortosky said the organization’s legal team has carefully reviewed the decision and believes they found strong grounds to appeal — a decision unanimously endorsed by Catholic school boards across the province.
“(The legal team) is very confident; as we said, when it comes to the decision itself, it’s inconsistent with what we feel were decisions made going back 100 years. These are well-founded legal principles and if they are given voice by the court of appeal we think we have a very good chance of winning this case.”
Laying out some of the school division’s basis for appeal, Fortosky said the lawyers feel Justice Donald Layh made several legal errors in his interpretation of legal principles that were established in past court decisions. They believe his interpretation of separate school rights within the Constitution was too narrow — which Fortosky says is inconsistent with previous rulings in the Supreme Court.
“The legal team also believes there were other errors in relation to the trial judge’s findings and interpretation of the evidence provided at the trial as well as the issue of standing.”
Fortosky was unable to provide statistics on how many non-Catholic students currently attend Catholic schools, but said removing them from the system is not only unconstitutional but will also affect blended families in which some members are Catholic and others are not, and Catholic families who initially choose not to baptize their children.
“We want to be a welcoming and inclusive community for all who chose a faith-based education for their children.”