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GUELPH — Opposition to Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory's contentious policy on faith-based schools hit close to home yesterday when the first member of his caucus broke ranks by announcing he would vote against it.
Bill Murdoch said in his rural riding of Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound that he could no longer defend his boss's plan to extend public funding to Jewish, Muslim and other religious schools. He said he came to that realization after hearing "loud and clear" while campaigning door to door that residents are predominantly against the policy.
"Over the last two weeks I have listened to the constituents and I am convinced that the majority stand against faith-based funding," Mr. Murdoch said at a news conference. "I answer to that today."
Mr. Tory's campaign for the Oct. 10 election has been overshadowed by his pledge to treat all religious schools the same as Roman Catholic ones by extending funding to them.
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At a campaign stop in Guelph yesterday, Mr. Tory dismissed Mr. Murdoch as a "maverick" and said his views are not representative of the other 24 caucus members.
"Bill Murdoch is sort of like a jack-in-the-box, where you wind the handle and you don't know when something's going to pop up with Bill and it popped up today," Mr. Tory said.
"I think you will find we have good support for this policy," he said. "I mean, when you look up maverick in the dictionary, you find his picture there in colour."
At least five other caucus members have expressed reservations about the policy, including veteran MPP Bob Runciman. He recently told The Canadian Press that: "It's not playing well. I am not hearing from people [who are] supportive, by and large."
Mr. Murdoch has become renowned during his 17 years as a member of the provincial legislature for speaking his mind. He once complained to then-premier Mike Harris about the "pimply faced nancy boys" running his office. He has referred to gay and lesbian couples as "pansies" and called for a recorded vote on the province's same-sex legislation, saying many people in Ontario are against it.
Yesterday, he made it clear that he is not at all happy that the campaign has revolved around faith-based schools.
"Now, make no mistake, this issue is important," he said. "As a matter of fact, I didn't realize exactly how sensitive and divisive the issue would be when it was first introduced by our leader, John Tory."
He acknowledged that some residents of his riding are in favour of it, notably those who send their children to Timothy Christian Schools. But he said his job is to defend and fight for what the majority of residents want.
Liberal Leader Dalton McGuinty said in Stratford that an "overwhelming consensus of disapproval" is emerging over the school proposal.
"I think more and more it reflects bad judgment on the part of Mr. Tory," he said.
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association has also weighed in on the debate, calling for an end to funding for all religious schools. Mr. Tory reiterated that there are only two choices: Fund all religious schools or fund none.
"I've chosen to fund all because I believe that is the right way to go to make sure not one single student, if possible, is left out of public education," he said.
The growing opposition to funding faith-based schools overshadowed Mr. Tory's efforts yesterday to make the province's embattled property-tax assessment system a campaign issue.
He put Ontario's property-tax assessment agency on notice that a Progressive Conservative government would replace it with a new agency if it does not begin acting with greater sensitivity to homeowners.
With a report from Caroline Alphonso in Stratford
