Even before Ontario’s Bill 33, the Supporting Children and Students Act, was officially passed Nov. 20, the Ontario Catholic School Trustees’ Association had voiced concerns about the problems it could cause and the lack of input from its members. 

In the days following the bill's passing, Michael Bellmore,  president of the OCSTA and chair of the Sudbury Catholic District School Board, spoke to The Catholic Register about those deep concerns in clear detail — including the bill's affect on the integrity of the Catholic school system.

“ This legislation permits the minister to more easily take over a school board, as opposed to the past's very clear set of guidelines, and appoint a supervisor of their liking to have control over the board — that raises a huge flag for us,” he said. 

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“ If you are putting a supervisor in charge of a Catholic school board, is that person a Catholic, and are they able to understand the unique needs of the Catholic system that they're being put in charge of. If they're not putting a Catholic supervisor in place at a Catholic school board, to us, that infringes on the denominational constitutional rights of that school board and its students and families.” 

Initially introduced as a way to further investigate financial mismanagement by certain school boards, Bill 33 allows the Minister of Education, Paul Calandra, to initiate investigations into boards based on concerns about matters of public interest. If issues are found, Calandra can issue directives to address them or assume control of a board’s powers if certain directives are not followed, beyond just financial ones. 

It would also require school boards to implement School Resource Officer (SRO) programs where they are offered by local police services.

Calandra had confirmed on Nov. 19 that both French and Catholic boards would retain their constitutional rights, giving trustees authority over “French- and Catholic-specific issues.” 

For Bellmore, the claim is shrouded in mystery and does not provide the comfort that the Minister of Education intended. Sensing a threat to Catholic schools’ constitutionally protected denominational rights under Section 93, Constitution Act 1867, he spoke to how denominational rights are not limited to “Catholic-specific issues.”  

“ We view denominational rights as things that permeate our everyday operations, whether it's in hiring, the way curriculum is developed, school culture or the way we deal with expulsions or suspensions. It’s a mystery to us what this minister or his staff are defining as Catholic issues,” he said. 

Two of the six school boards currently under provincial supervision are the Toronto Catholic District School Board and the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board, two of the largest Catholic boards in Ontario. 

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To Bellmore’s knowledge, since they have been placed under supervision, there has been no consultation for denominational rights or denominational matters with the supervisors. He says it further begs the question as to what is deemed denominational rights that fall under trustee control. 

 Despite having past working relationships with ministers from a number of political stripes to forge working relationships for the betterment of funded Catholic schools, the OCSTA is disheartened at the lack of communication coming from the top down.  

“I’ve been involved with the board for 10 years now, and I can't even think of a time when I wasn't sitting as president where it would've been reported to the board that we’re having a failure to connect with this minister now,” he said.

Bellmore believes the communication, or lack thereof, is not because of the OCSTA’s reputation as a Catholic system, saying that the minister has decided not to interact with any trustee associations at any level. 

Bill 33 has Catholic trustees feeling deeply anxious and dejected, said Bellmore, and many perceive the ministry’s continued crackdown as leaving them unfairly painted as incompetent or problematic despite decades of faithful service expanding and serving Catholic education in Ontario. 

The organization is continuing its daily advocacy with heightened importance on meetings with opposition parties, teachers’ groups and constructing communicative policy papers and memos to members as they hope for a renewed dialogue during the regulation-writing phase of Bill 33. 

Bellmore also didn’t shy away from delivering a pointed reminder that Ontario’s large, loyal Catholic voting bloc is watching closely as the province’s latest education bill unfolds, and won’t forget at the ballot box. 

“ Catholics in this province have a long history of contributions to Catholic education, and I hope that this government understands that, when push comes to shove, Catholics will unite. They will speak with their ability to mark an X at the ballot in the next election,” he said.

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“I would hope as we begin the deep dive on regulations, that the minister will be open to dialogue with us around Bill 33… While we don't want to go down a litigious path, we will defend the rights of the Catholic school system up to and including the Supreme Court in this country.” 

For more on OCSTA’s work and statements, visit ocsta.on.ca.