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Liberal Leader Dalton McGuinty said yesterday that extending public funding to all faith-based schools could lead to lawsuits, expensive building projects and quarrels over what's being taught.
During a meeting with The Globe and Mail's editorial board, Mr. McGuinty outlined in detail his opposition to the proposal by Progressive Conservative Party Leader John Tory to bring faith-based schools into the public system. He said such a plan would plunge Ontario into a divisive, all-consuming debate.
"Which faiths will get funding and which won't? What do we do when the lawsuits begin now because we've opened this door?" he asked.
"The Conservatives are saying, well, fairness compels us to provide funding to other faith-based schools but fairness does not compel us to pay for the buildings. So how long now until the fairness argument dictates that we also pay for the buildings?"
Ontario Liberal Leader Dalton McGuinty addresses a party rally Thursday in Toronto. (CP/Jonathan Hayward)
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Another divisive issue would be "what happens when one of the newly funded faith-based schools has something that is taught in religious class which seems to be controversial and counter to what's being taught in the standard curriculum," he said. "How do we manage that?"
Mr. McGuinty said he has considered the issue before and rejected it. "The problem with Mr. Tory is that he didn't think it through and he's embraced it."
Mr. Tory has said that he would hold a free vote in the legislature on the issue and consult the public. Mr. McGuinty said yesterday that he had no intention of engaging in the debate on the topic if re-elected.
"Am I going to plunge my province into a constitutional debate over the future of publicly funded education? No."
Mr. McGuinty also dismissed suggestions he is being contradictory given that he and his children attended publicly funded Catholic schools.
"It's not about where I went I school," he said. "It's about the responsibility of the Premier. The responsibility of the Premier, as I see it, regardless of background or circumstances, is to defend the interests of children who are going to publicly funded schools."
However, he added that he would "never restrict the right of parents to choose to send their kids to other schools."
Mr. McGuinty also refused to apologize for introducing a health tax after saying during the last campaign that he wouldn't raise taxes.
"I'm not sure how helpful it is to Ontarians," he said when asked whether he'd ever told voters he was sorry for breaking the promise. "What I want to convey to Ontarians is that I did what I thought was right, not easy, but I did what I thought was right and what I thought was in their interests."
His new government was "in denial" when the Liberals came to office in 2003, he added.
"We thought we could find efficiencies, but it meant severe cuts," he said. "We struggled with that and at the end of the day I made a call. I live with that call. Now Ontarians get to make a call."
He said the tax has helped fund the construction of new hospitals and the hiring of doctors and nurses.
"I made a really important promise to Ontarians that I wouldn't raise their taxes and I broke that promise. I hated doing that. But I had to make a choice, right? I think the job of a leader is to lead even when you are leading people in a difficult place."
When asked whether he would ever consider repealing the tax, Mr. McGuinty said the money was too important to the future of health care, which consumes roughly half of the provincial program spending.
"There may come a day [when it is repealed], but I need to speak in four-year certainties; that's what voters are looking for. So I'm not going to make any commitment during the course of the next four years that would see us reduce that premium," he said.
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Where the leaders are
Liberal Leader
Dalton McGuinty
9:30 a.m.: Lincoln Alexander Public School, 38 Hillmount Ave., Markham
2:30 p.m.: Edelweiss Tavern, 600 Doon Village Rd., Kitchener
6 p.m.: Campaign event, 5 Durham St. N., Colborne
Progressive Conservative
Leader John Tory
8:10 a.m.: Mix 99.9, Toronto
10:30 a.m.: Bramalea-Gore-Malton, 2 Automatic Rd., Brampton
12:30 p.m.: Guelph Business Leaders Luncheon, Holiday Inn, 601 Scottsdale Dr., Guelph
6:30 p.m.: PC reception, Best Western Lamplighter Inn, 591 Wellington Rd. S., London
New Democratic Party
Leader Howard Hampton
10 a.m.: Campaign announcement, corner of Maria Street and Russell Street North, Sarnia
7:15 p.m.: Mosque at 65 Rexdale Blvd., Toronto
Green Party Leader
Frank de Jong
10 a.m.: News conference, 162 Old Garden River Rd., Sault Ste. Marie
7:30 p.m.: Thunder Bay Art Gallery, 1080 Keewatin St.
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