Beginning to comment on this provincial election - this election and referendum are too important to ignore.

I just finished watching Green Party leader Frank de Jong on TVO. He did quite well, even better than last time I saw him on Studio 2 a few years ago. I actually remember he was once sort of stumped regarding his chief issue of tax shifting by Ruth Grier of the NDP. The next time I saw him, I challenged him with the same question, and he answered much better.
Frank has been leader of the Party since 1993. He actually posted on a blog on this site a few posts back.

Right now, local K-W candidate Catherine Fife is doing well with signage in my neighbourhood. She also lives in the area and is a credible community candidate.

I'll start by blogging on two issues in which I feel I have some background/credibility. And they are two issues which Brampton-West family doctor Sanjeev Goel has done videos on: coal power and religious funding for education.

I'll do education here.



now, if I was Sanjeev, I wouldn't lump Jedi with Atheist. But that was "Grey" anyway.

In the Harris years when my high school education was being messed up without even some consultation, we petitioned and advocated for several changes in curriculum and funding. The next thing brainy idea the new leader Ernie Eves (a moderate) wanted to implement was a private school tax credit. As I recall, that would have drawn out another $300 million from the education system. The Tories slid and lost the election.

Now we're back with an idea to fund all private religious schools, somehow within the public system. I give the Conservatives credit for attempting to introduce fairness into the system. The Liberals and NDP maintain the position of the status quo, which has long been criticized by the United Nations. It's awkward and unjust to fund one religion and not others. De Jong said that on the show, as a former Catholic graduate. He turned out alright of course, since social justice can be a core teaching in Catholic schools. But even Catholics should know that there isn't justification for this.
One public system has been the Green position for years. It's nice to see that consistency. It's great that young people can get religious education, and I always work for religious acceptance in schools and would make that a priority. But I don't think it's the public's responsibility to fund religious education. We should have diverse schools where we can educate young people with other students and educators who reflect the whole community. Not split them up based on religious and cultural/ethnic lines which would happen.

It's nice to hear an update of Green Party policy, that they'd do away with standardized testing, and implement a mandatory world religions course - one of my favourite subjects in my (Catholic) high school.

Here's Tory's gaffe. Whatever he meant..