Posted on 09/09/2007 8:50:09 PM PDT by monomaniac
By John-Henry Westen and Elizabeth O'Brien
TORONTO, September 6, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Conservative Leader John Tory's election promise to give public funding to faith-based schools began to unravel at the seams yesterday as he spoke about evolution in the classroom.
Asked by a radio interviewer if creation would be permitted to be taught in the classroom, Tory replied, "The Christian-based school would have to teach the Ontario curriculum, which of course has a different explanation. It's still called the theory of evolution, but they teach evolution in the Ontario curriculum, but they could also mention to children the fact that there are other theories out there that are part of some Christian beliefs."
Just after the interview, the Conservative Party issued a clarification on the remarks noting that any teaching of creation, presumably including scientific evidence for it, is not permitted in science class.
The John Tory Campaign made the following clarification: "1.) The Ontario curriculum does not allow for creationism (or any other religious theory) to be taught in science classes in Ontario's public schools. 2.) Mr. Tory clearly stated that any school to be included in the proposal must teach the Ontario curriculum. 3.) Mr. Tory's proposal would allow creationism to be discussed only as part of religious studies programming, as is now the practice in Ontario's publicly-funded Catholic schools."
Progressive Conservative leader John Tory and Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty have taken opposing sides on the issue of private school funding. Though opposed, the proposals of both politicians are seen by some seasoned political observers as unsatisfactory and potentially harmful to the religious freedom of religiously-based schools, public and private alike.
At present Ontario is one of the only provinces where parents who wish to educate their children in faith-based schools, other than Catholic, must pay public education taxes and receive no benefit for their children from those mandatory tax payments. The province pays for the costs of education in both the public school system and the Catholic separate system.
Tory intends to change the situation of private faith-based education funding by pumping up to $400 million into all faith-based schools within the province, including those that have hitherto provided their own funding.
Private schools that are not faith-based will receive no benefit, a major difference from the previous simple tax credit plan for families attending all independent schools that was implemented by former Ontario Finance Minister Jim Flaherty.
In order to receive the money, however, privately run schools would have to teach the Ontario curriculum, follow standardized testing and have accredited teachers. While it would be optional at first, Tory's proposed solution could eventually force all schools to comply with the Ontario curriculum sections that mandate such things as acceptance of feminism and homosexuality, graphic sex education, teaching of evolution as complete fact and other problematic topics for those from religions of traditional moral, family and other core principles.
While faith-based private schools in Ontario were supportive of the previous Conservative Party plan to offer tax credits to families that chose private schooling, the current plan is worrisome to some. Some private school officials see Tory's plan as a first step to forcing all private schools to absorb the full secular curriculum and hire only government certified and indoctrinated teachers, as is the case in Quebec.
In Quebec last year the government threatened to shut down private Christian schools unless they accepted the province's required teaching on evolution and sex-education (See http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/oct/06102404.html ).
Dalton McGuinty, on the other hand, says he wants to leave the situation stand as it is. As he told a conference of municipal delegates, "You don't improve a community's schools, you don't build community when you take half a billion (dollars) out of publicly funded schools to fund private religious schools as the Conservatives are promising to do."
Commenting on the situation, John Pacheco, political activist and former Director of Finance of a private Catholic school told LifeSiteNews.com, "Once the Catholic school system accepted money, it made it easier for secular ideology to creep into the schools. As soon as we allow the government to dictate what curriculum to use, they can withdraw funding if we don't meet the standards."
Pacheco, who is also running in the upcoming provincial election in Ottawa West Nepean, will be highlighting the Family Coalition Party's voucher system proposal as an alternative to John Tory's plan. Under the FCP plan the parents' education tax dollars would follow their child to the school of their choice, which would include homeschooling.
I will whenever I present evidence for creation~!
Then by all means show us this evidence
You stated specifically that you would want all points of view taught, including creationism.
My question is since the underlying theory behind creationism is the existence of an all powerful supernatural creator, how could that be studied empirically? Sure you could study rocks and genes, but what about the creator; do you study him/her/it empirically?
It is a branch of fiction and should be taught in literature.
Just false, unless of course evolution is your religion which it appears it is, and therefore is religiously false.
Next thing you know, they’ll be calling for math to be taught in math class, and English in English class.
Well, they should teach it somewhere. So far they don't apper to be teaching them very well anywhere.
My children were forced to listen to teachers teaching evolution. It was no problem, I just told them to pretend to believe the fairy tale and pass the tests which they did. They now teach their children to do the same, which they do, and nobody believes in evolution.
Darwinism: A doomed theory since 1859!
LOL!
Actually, darwinism had more credibility in 1859. Darwin and others like him, thought the cell was just a glob of protoplasm, now we know it is more complex than most big cities. Many other advances also repudiate the ability of darwinism to explain away this complexity (and of course still be consistent with the 2nd law of thermodynamics - that can NEVER be violated). And I don’t even need to mention the complete lack of transitional fossils that worried darwin at the time and he stated that these fossils would eventually be found (and haven’t).
False. See the following links from Index to Creationist Claims, edited by Mark Isaak.
Sorry, the fossils have been found. Lots of them.
Creationists try to wave them away but that doesn't make them disappear! And more are found every year.
I have made no representations as to believing in Darwinism. I have limited knowledge in this area. I do know a fair bit about geology though, and I know the earth is older than 6,500 years old. There is no scientific debate on this point at all. Funny, the creationists believe the 6,500 number despite the bible being silent on the matter. Being a creationist is not mutually exclusive from believing the earth is millions or billions of years old.
Interesting that Canada subsidizes Catholics and no other Churches.
How do they justify that?
(Too many Catholic voters?)
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