Ontario Court Upholds Ruling Against Jewish Education Funding Challenge
The Ontario Court of Appeal has delivered a significant blow to advocates seeking public funding for Jewish schools in the province. On Wednesday, the court upheld a lower-court decision that essentially dismissed the case brought forward by Grassroots for Affordable Jewish Education, declaring it a matter of settled law with no reasonable prospect of success at the Supreme Court of Canada.
The Constitutional Challenge and Its Rejection
The Grassroots group had argued that Ontario's current school funding system violates sections 2(a) and 15(1) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantee religious freedom and equality under the law. The province's unique arrangement provides funding for public boards (English and French) and Catholic boards (English and French), but excludes all other religious schools.
The legal challenge faced an insurmountable obstacle in Section 29 of the Charter, which explicitly shields school funding from scrutiny under any other section. This provision represents a historical artifact of Canadian constitutional development that continues to shape educational policy today.
Cultural Survival Arguments Gain Urgency
More compelling than the legal arguments were the cultural preservation concerns raised by the plaintiffs. Mordechai Ben-Dat, founder of Grassroots for Affordable Jewish Education, told the Superior Court of Justice in 2023 that "the living stream that carries our religion through time and place is memory. Collective memory is what we transmit from one generation to the next. And the instrument of transmitting such memory is education."
Ben-Dat emphasized that Jewish communities have maintained organized educational systems since ancient times, understanding that "to sustain Judaism, we need an educational system transmitting faith, rules, laws and the values underlying them." This argument gained particular urgency following the October 7 Hamas attacks on southern Israel, which triggered increased antisemitic incidents across Canada.
Documented Safety Concerns in Public Schools
The Ontario government itself has acknowledged serious problems with antisemitism in public schools. Education Minister Paul Calandra expressed being "deeply concerned, angry and frustrated" with findings from a report on antisemitism in Ontario schools. The report revealed that at least 10 percent of Jewish schoolchildren experienced antisemitic incidents during a 16-month period beginning in October 2023, with nearly half occurring between the October 7 attacks and the holiday break.
Calandra observed that students feel unsafe, parents are frustrated and angry, and teachers who simply want to teach are unable to do so effectively. He threatened to intervene if school boards didn't address these issues, and his ministry has already seized control of seven Ontario boards citing various management concerns.
The Funding Dilemma for Jewish Families
The court's decision leaves Jewish families in a difficult position: if public schools cannot adequately protect Jewish children from antisemitism, why should parents bear the financial burden of sending them to alternative institutions? This question becomes particularly pressing given the documented safety concerns and the government's own acknowledgment of systemic problems.
The ruling essentially confirms that any expansion of school funding in Ontario will not come through judicial mandate. The decision reinforces the status quo, maintaining the current funding structure that supports public and Catholic schools while excluding other religious institutions. This leaves Jewish parents who seek culturally appropriate and safe educational environments for their children facing significant financial barriers without public support.
The case highlights ongoing tensions between religious freedom, educational equity, and historical constitutional arrangements in Ontario's education system. With documented antisemitism creating unsafe environments in some public schools, the question of how to ensure both safety and educational access for Jewish students remains unresolved and increasingly urgent.
