Premier Duff Roblin of the Province of Manitoba, in the Canadian prairies, has moved to resolve the province’s thorny problem of financing religiously sponsored day schools.
His plans, outlined in the legislature in Winnipeg, will give no direct financial assistance to parochial schools and this appeared to meet the major objections of Protestant groups and others opposing state aid to non-public schools. Under the plan to be studied by a special legislative committee, private and parochial students would be free to accept certain facilities in public schools. This would mean that parochial pupils could use manual work, cooking classrooms, science laboratories and the like within the public schools. It also means that parochial pupils world be entitled to free text books and where necessary bus transportation to schools.
Premier Roblin’s announcement came after more than four years of speculation on possible steps the government might take to solve the financial plight of Manitoba’s Roman Catholic school system. Also involved are Winnipeg’s Jewish day schools, including the Talmud Torah, Peretz School and others. Winnipeg has the oldest Jewish day school system in Canada and one of the oldest on the continent.
The announcement also means that the government has rejected “on principle” the 1999 recommendation of a Royal Commission which suggested that public aid be given to private schools by way of direct money grants.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
