News

TORONTO, May 20, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) – People for Education, a parent’s group, learned that 110 schools are slated for closure in Ontario by June 2005. The information was derived from a survey of school boards throughout Canada’s most populous province. The finding is a reflection of a declining population, and scarcity of children.

Statistics reveal that Canada’s birth rate has fallen by over 25 percent in the last ten years, with biggest declines seen in Ontario. The most recent statistics released by Statistics Canada, for 2002, reveal the lowest birth rate ever, at only 10.5 live births for every 1,000 population, since birth rates began to be measured in 1922. Canada has one of the world’s lowest fertility rates, an indication of how many babies a child-bearing woman has in her lifetime, at 1.5. To maintain the population, a minimal level of 2.1 is necessary.  “Our people are not replacing themselves”, said Jim Hughes, National President of Campaign Life Coalition, in reaction to the alarmingly low fertility figures for Canada. “More than two million babies have been killed by abortion since 1969”, he continued. “Our Culture of Death at the beginning of life leads to a dead culture and a dying country.”  The low birthrate has been building to a dangerous demographic imbalance and associated rapidly rising health care costs, the developing worker shortage (versus a huge growth in the number of retired persons) and many other negative effects. Ontario officials are predicting serious shortages in skilled labour by 2010, with a forecast of more than 50 percent retiring by that time.  Read related LifeSiteNews.com coverage,  Responses to Drop in Canada’s Birth Rate Ignore Major Cause https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/apr/04042108.html   StatsCan Reveals Canada’s Birth Rate Continues to Drop: at All-Time Low https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/apr/04041905.html   Serious Skilled Labour Shortage Developing in Ontario https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/apr/04041408.html