TORONTO, November 21, 2001 (LSN.ca) – Ontario MPPs who have declared their support for Ernie Eves in the Ontario Conservative leadership race, are attacking the Equity in Education Tax Credit designed to assist parents who send their children to independent schools. These families often bear a considerable financial burden for this choice while saving taxpayers thousands of dollars per pupil who would otherwise have been an expense to the public system. In addition to providing real education choices to families, it is also argued that private schools provide much-needed competition to the monolithic public system and its powerful teachers’ unions. The National Post reported yesterday that Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, who is to officially declare his candidacy for Leader tomorrow, “faced off against backers of Mr. Eves who want to scale back” the tax credit.
The paper reports that after a provincial Cabinet executive committee Monday, “Janet Ecker, the Minister of Education and a key backer of Mr. Eves, suggested the private-school tax credit she has opposed since its introduction in May could be eliminated.” David Tsubouchi, the Chair of the Management Board of Cabinet and also an ally of Mr. Eves, “does not want to cancel the corporate tax cut but is less committed to the education tax credit,” according to the National Post.
Supporters of the tax credit are encouraged to immediately contact their MPPs and the Minister of education to emphasize the benefits to the province and the justice of a healthy, competitive independent school system supported by Tax Credits.
See the National Post coverage at: https://www.nationalpost.com/home/story.html?f=/stories/20011120/795234.html