This paper's purpose is to extensively review the historical understanding of conscience and the current juridical interpretation of freedom of conscience under section 2(a) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (1982). It then briefly notes that given the challenge faced by Ontario's Catholic schools in providing for inclusionary…

This review examines outcomes, tensions, and variables contained in eight Canadian legal cases, which are important because of their profound implications for current and future stakeholders of Catholic education. These cases prompt educators to re-examine the understanding of student rights, teacher rights, and the rights of the Catholic school…

In 2002, Marc Hall's principal denied him permission to take his boyfriend to his Catholic high-school prom. In examining the politicization of the ensuing prom predicament, we critique Catholicized education and what we perceive to be the Catholic Church's efforts to privatize queerness as it segregates being religious from being sexual. We…

Denominational instruction within public schools is inadequate for parents whose religious convictions are not satisfied by secular education. Fears of division in society, narrow curriculum, shortage of pupils, and shortage of funding have created legal and practical limits for establishing alternatives. (Author/JAZ)

It is suggested that the financial cost of funding private schools in Ontario should not decide policy, but rather social justice reasons. Arguments for special groups should be balanced against social cohesion. The constitutional argument might imply that discrimination exists unless private schools are partly funded. (Author/JAZ)