Catholic church important part of Canada's history

Canadian history and the Catholic Church are inexorably linked. While there is evidence that the Vikings landed in Newfoundland before 1000, and of course, their were indigenous peoples. Jacques Cartier first explored what came to be called the St. Lawrence River in 1534. The land of Canada was claimed in 1603 for God and France by Samuel de Champlain. New France, as Canada (meaning Village or Settlement in Iroquoian--Kanata) was then called quickly became inhabited with French, mainly then, from Brittany. Naturally, the Church came too.

A few decades later, St. Jean de Brebeuf and his companions who would later become known as the the North American Martyrs Isaac Jogues, Antoine Daniel, Gabriel Lalemant, Charles Garnier, Noel Chabanel (priests), and Rene Goupil and Jean Lalande (lay missionaries); along with their Huron (Wendat) family were savagely murdered by the barbaric Iroquois.

Eventually, of course, the British came; and following the War of Independence in the United States even more who proudly became known as the United Empire Loyalists came north. General James Wolfe's British army defeated General Louis-Joseph de Montcalm at Quebec City on the Plains of Abraham and history changed forever. But the British were fair. They did not subjugate the French of Quebec or what they called Lower Canada (Ontario was Upper Canada) but allowed the retention of their language, culture and system of law.
In the 1860's, conferences were held culminating at Government House in Charlottetown, where on July 1, 1867 Canada became a nation of the four colonies, Upper and Lower Canada, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The Articles of Confederation included something that is now again under pressure in Ontario and an anomaly to my American and other readers--the public funding of Catholic schools.

While it does seem to be an anomaly, it is our history. Lower Canada would only come in to "confederation" if its rights of religion, language, culture and law were safeguarded. George Etienne Cartier and others knew that in one nation they would always be a minority. Thus, their rights were guaranteed by Confederation and minority rights were enshrined. These minority rights also included the English Protestants in Quebec. Any public school system in Quebec would naturally be French and Catholic and the teachers nuns and priests. This was a fact of demographics. The English Protestants in Quebec were granted the right to "Separate Schools" that were "protestant." Of course, the quid pro quo of this extended throughout Canada and still remains in Ontario with the "separate" system being "Catholic." Therefore, today in Ontario we have four publicly-funded district school systems, Public (secular), French (secular), Catholic and French-language Catholic.

So where is this brief history session going?

Well, in October we have an election in Ontario. John Tory, the "leader" of the Progressive Conservatives (how's that for an oxymoron) in a blatant vote grab is proposing public-funding for "other" religions. (They would probably come administratively under the "public" boards, would use existing empty schools and must abide by provincial curriculum and certified teachers as the Catholic boards have always done.) On the surface this seems fair--certainly if Canada which is decidedly secular today it would not have a "Catholic" system--as it would acknowledge the changes in demographics and immigration since mainly 1970 and Pierre Elliot Trudeau's new Canada and "Just Society".

Yes, fair.

Except that what was not an issue now becomes an issue and gives the usual round of anti-Catholic bigots the opportunity to once again, bash the Catholic Church and publicly-funded Catholic education--as if Catholics don't pay taxes!

A cheap ploy on the part of John Tory, no doubt.

And a provocation to all the bigots--thanks, John!

Well yesterday, I was almost apoplectic when I found in my local community newspaper on my stoop, the following editorial. Now, I know it's only the Etobicoke Guardian--but it would be a great thing if its parent the Toronto Daily Star picked it up and ran it!

Catholic church important part of Canada's history

August 3, 2007 08:56 AM

This is what happens when a country fails to teach and remind its citizens of its history.

Canada, for those who don't know, was founded on two distinct cultural and religious divides: The Protestant, English-speaking and the Catholic, French speaking - each as an equal partner in the formation of a new nation.

From this unique history it shouldn't be surprising that one of the two - or both - of this exclusive club would at one time or another get some special treatment.

Catholic high schools in Ontario have been provincially funded since 1984, and the debate about the funding, although silent for a number of years, has been revisited after Conservative John Tory stepped up to say he would fund all religious schools if elected.

Since his announcement, opposition voices across the province have surfaced and had their prejudicial views printed regularly in various publications. Instead of attacking the actual funding of the Catholic schools, they attack the church's doctrine for what they perceive as discriminatory against women and gays - their attacks are out of ignorance.

A book was written four years ago: The New Anti Catholicism, The Last Acceptable Prejudice by Philip Jenkins and its premise is so true when applied to the GTA. Just imagine if any of the other religions in the province were to take the narrow-minded abuse absorbed by the Catholic Church.

There's a malicious faction out there that fails to recognize, either wilfully or through ignorance, the Catholic Church's significant historical presence in Canada and too many have difficulty accepting that it is the largest religion in Ontario and makes up 43 per cent of the nation's faith base.

This same group gives the impression to whoever will listen to them that public money goes flowing from provincial coffers into Catholic schools. Did they ever once think that Catholics also pay taxes? And since they are the majority, it's a pretty safe bet they're paying a substantial amount. In essence, Catholics are footing their own bill for education.

Here are some interesting numbers from the last census:

- Ontario's population: More than 12,000,000

- Catholic: Close to 4,000,000

- Protestant: Close to 4,000,000

- Muslim: 352,530

- Hindu: 217,555

- Jewish: 190,795

- Buddhist: 128,320

- Sikh: 104,785

The media in this province go out of their way to avoid offending all religions and races, but consistently forget about the Catholic Church. Whereas offences against Jews and Muslim are considered hate crimes, any knock against the church of Rome is considered fair game.

In this respect, the debate on funding religious schools should be kept to the balance sheet. The bigotry that overshadows it should be eliminated.