TORONTO, June 27, 2001 (LSN.ca) – The Ontario Conservative Government has passed legislation to give a partial tax credit to parents who choose to send their children to private schools. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty had announced that the “Equity in Education Tax Credit” was to “assist parents who want their children educated in their religion and culture but find the cost of sending their children to independent schools prohibitive.”
The tax-credit passed today by a vote of 50-35 with the Liberals and New Democrats attempting to derail the plan. Using the language of the politically correct activists who opposed the plan, Flaherty said after the bill’s passage, “(The tax credit) will improve Catholic education, it will improve francophone education (and) it will improve public education in the province, just as full funding of Catholic education . . . helped improve the public education system . We need to be broad-minded, we need to be tolerant – it’s the Canadian way.” LifeSite reported earlier that the plan had the support of the Ontario Conference of Catholic Bishops, Ontario Alliance of Christian Schools and the Canadian Jewish Congress.
The government proposes to phase in the partial tax credit, beginning in the 2002 taxation year, for kindergarten, elementary and secondary tuition fees at independent schools in Ontario. The credit rates, to be applied to the first $7,000 of tuition fees exclusively, are to be phased in over a five-year period starting at 10% of tuition and capping at 50% of tuition. Thus for the 2002 year, parents will be able to receive up to $700 per child in private school and by 2006 up to $3,500 per child. The credit would be applied to tuition up to $7,000 only and would not include, for example, expenses for books, sports, uniforms, computers, travel or boarding.
See the Canadian Press coverage: https://www.southam.com/ottawacitizen/newsnow/cpfs/national/010627/n062785.html