GAJE still awaits the decision from the Supreme Court of Canada on whether the Court will allow us to continue with our case for fairness in funding education in Ontario. When it arrives, we will share the Court’s decision at the first opportunity.
The fight for funding fairness is obviously, first and foremost, to enable as many of our families as possible to send their children to Jewish day schools. More children would attend day schools if their families could afford to send them there. Even so, despite the high tuition – three years after October 7, because of October 7 – the demand for spaces in Jewish schools exceeds the supply.
Which is why the fight is about more than abating the financial hardship of the tuitions. It is also about the future of Ontario society. The events coursing through our Ontario streets and institutions since October 7 have exposed the deeply wounding cut of that inequity and added to the hurt and the pain.
How can Ontario be indifferent to the fact that the rights and freedoms enshrined in Canada’s constitution some 44 years ago, are blocked from applying to Ontarians, today in 2026, by an agreement made 159 years ago with Quebec and then, undone by Quebec some thirty years ago? In all honesty, reasonableness and conscience it cannot. It should not.
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It is well documented that the public’s falling confidence and failing trust in Ontario’s public schools, have contributed to the increase in demand for spaces in all of Ontario’s independent schools, not just in the Jewish day schools.
It is therefore important to keep in mind that the embrace of day school is more enduringly sustained for positive reasons rather than for negative ones.
Two years ago, in a clearly-worded article, Prizma, the network organization based in New York, that supports Jewish education in North America, provided the following concise reasons for embracing day school education.
“The impact of Jewish day schools extends beyond academic achievement; it impacts the whole student with a spiritual, ethical, and intellectual education. Extensive research shows that the foundations built during childhood have a lasting impact throughout one’s life….
“Research conducted over the past two decades unequivocally illustrates the profound and lasting impact of Jewish day school education on individuals and the broader Jewish community. More than academic instruction, Jewish day schools provide an immersive environment rich in Jewish customs, values and culture. This holistic approach fosters strong Jewish identities, deep connections to Israel, and a commitment to communal involvement that extends well into adulthood.”
And so, GAJE awaits, with undiminished hope. May we receive positive news from the SCC. Achieving fairness in Ontario’s educational funding would indeed be good for the Jews. But it would be even better for Ontario.
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If you wish to contribute to GAJE’s lawsuit to achieve fairness in educational funding, please click here. Charitable receipts for donations for income tax purposes will be issued by Mizrachi Canada. Your donations will be used for the sole purpose of helping to underwrite the costs of the lawsuit. For further information, please contact Israel Mida at: imida1818@gmail.com Thank you, in advance, for considering doing so.
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Shabbat shalom
Grassroots for Affordable Jewish Education
October 30, 2026
