ONTARIO'S EDUCATION SYSTEM IS EXPENSIVE AND INEFFECTIVE

Yesterday's Waterloo Region Record carried this opinion piece titled "Ontario's education system needs reform". Basically it compares Ontario's system with that of British Columbia which is much more open and flexible to things like independent schools. "British Columbia offers a model of education financing and delivery that could reduce government costs and improve results." Both religious schools and specialized education schools are run as independent schools. Eligible independent schools which follow the provincial curriculum and hire accredited teachers can receive government grants to the tune of between 35 to 50 percent of government run schools. The results are incredible. Costs are greatly reduced compared to Ontario and student performance is clearly superior. It is estimated that the Ontario government could save between $849 million to $1.9 billion per year. The problem of course for the Ontario government is that those taxpayer funded higher costs essentially are simply taxpayers money buying Liberal votes from the teachers unions and the education establishment in Ontario. The cost savings will help Ontarians but at the expense of the Liberal Party. Guess why we haven't had reform to date.