In a recent communication to the community, UJA Federation of Greater Toronto reported that enrolment in day school education continues to grow. According to the Federation, more than 800 new students have been added to UJA’s partner day schools since 2017, at the elementary and high school level in the non-Orthodox sector.
This is a major positive development to be cheered and to be encouraged further. Therefore, as families make plans for their children’s education in 2023-3024, it is timely to remind everyone of the availability of the community’s endowment fund – The Generations Trust – specifically earmarked to help enable young families enrol their children in Jewish day schools. (For more information on The Generations Trust, contact UJA Federation of Greater Toronto.)
In the same vein, on the subject of helping to enable young families to enrol their children in Jewish day schools, we still await a decision on the attempt by the governments of Ontario and Canada to strike our application for educational funding fairness. But in the matter of GAJE’s legal case, a reminder to readers is also timely.
On April 20, Ontario and Canada argued in court that our case should be dismissed out of hand for the reason that the issue was resolved in 1996 (the Adler decision) and that decision should still stand without any regard to the circumstances that have intervened in nearly three subsequent decades.
How does GAJE answer that? Why, after all, does GAJE believe it is appropriate in 2023 to ask the court to reassess the decision of 1996 that allowed Ontario to discriminate in favour of one religion only in its educational funding?
There are a number of reasons.
First, GAJE’s application to the court raises legal issues which the Supreme Court did not decide in Adler. Therefore, the Adler decision is not a precedent binding on the court in relation to these new legal issues.
Second, insofar as the Adler decision does apply, the Supreme Court has shown a willingness, in the last decade, to re-examine previous decisions under limited circumstances. That is, where a new legal issue is raised or where there is a change in the circumstances or evidence that fundamentally shifts the parameters of the debate. Both criteria exist in GAJE’s application.
Third, rights-based claims, such as GAJE’s case, which impact large groups, should be heard on their merits and not dismissed at the first instance without a substantive hearing. Striking down a claim about government policy and legislation, rather than addressing its rights-based merits, impacts the ability of Ontario’s Jewish parents to continue to provide the educational opportunities to their children that Roman Catholic parents have. This reduces the ability of the Jewish community to flourish and thrive in a meaningful way.
Where discrimination is perpetuated by the government on an ongoing, obviously prima facie basis, a just and human rights-respecting society should periodically review whether the continuation of such discrimination remains justified. Have circumstances changed since the discrimination was originally authorized? Has the law evolved in any relevant respect since the discrimination was first enshrined into the law? Should not the governments – of their own accord for the sake of doing the right thing – wish to re-examine their behavior in light of the passage of nearly three decades?
In short, should the discrimination that was permitted in 1996 still be permitted in 2023?
Why does the government refuse to even allow this question to be raised? We believe the courts should not only be allowed to answer this question but that indeed, they should want to compel the government to answer it too.
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We still await the decision of Judge Papageorgiou on the motion brought by the governments of Ontario and Canada to strike our application. As soon as we know her decision, we will share it with you.
If you wish to support GAJE’s lawsuit for fairness in educational funding, please click here.
For further information, please contact Israel Mida at: imida1818@gmail.com
Charitable receipts for donations for income tax purposes will be issued by Mizrachi Canada. Your donations will be used for the sole purpose of underwriting the costs of the lawsuit.
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Shabbat shalom
Grassroots for Affordable Jewish Education (GAJE)
July 14, 2023
Grassroots for Affordable Jewish Education 