[Canada] Canadian Politics Redux

[Malthus]

Mr. Sheer was sending his kids to a Catholic school, and they tend to be somewhat cheaper ... but he had four kids to pay for!

Or the Party did, at any rate.

[Valmy]

Well nobody can doubt that the Conservative Party supports education.

[Oexmelin]

These prices are just stupid. Public school is fine.

It's high time Quebec ceases to subsidize private schools.

[PRC]

Meanwhile the UCP in Alberta want to move to an education voucher system, every student whether they're in public school, home school, "alternative school", private or religious school will receive taxpayer funded amounts.  In effect subsidizing private and religious school students on top of their tuitions.  Here are their thoughts on education:

[Grey Fox]

These prices are just stupid. Public school is fine.

It's high time Quebec ceases to subsidize private schools.

While I agree, is there other ways of controlling them?

[Zoupa]

These prices are just stupid. Public school is fine.

It's high time Quebec ceases to subsidize private schools.

While I agree, is there other ways of controlling them?

Sure. Ban them.

[Grey Fox]

Sadly, QS is not the party in power.

[HVC]

These prices are just stupid. Public school is fine.

It’s high time Quebec ceases to subsidize private schools.

does Quebec have a separate Catholic school board? Or any other province for that matter. I don't know how unique Ontario is

[Grey Fox]

These prices are just stupid. Public school is fine.

It's high time Quebec ceases to subsidize private schools.

does Quebec have a separate Catholic school board? Or any other province for that matter. I don't know how unique Ontario is

We have 60 Francophone school board, 9 anglophone school board & 3 "special" school board.

The special are multilingual english-french, english-french-cri & english-french-inuktitut.

None are religious.

[Oexmelin]

Confessional schools were a constitutional obligation in Ontario and Quebec (a consequence of the provisions of the Royal Proclamation of 1763 being extended to Upper Canada, following the Union, IIRC). Catholic schools served as proxies for French-language schools in Ontario; Protestant for English-language schools in Quebec. That is, until Irish immigration changed matters in both provinces, with Anglophone Irish taking control of Catholic school boards in Ontario (leading to the shutting down of French-language schools in 1912), and refusing to be placed under the control of a French-speaking clergy in Quebec (leading to a division between Francophone Catholic schoolboards and Anglophone Catholic schoolboards).

The switch to language-based school boards made it easier in Quebec to switch away from confessional school boards, which happened after a discrete constitutional amendment in 1998.

[Barrister]

So who has any favourites in the upcoming Conservative leadership race?

Brad Wall (former Sask premier) would have been an interesting choice, but alas he doesn't speak French.

I know many will stump for Peter Mackay.  But I'll never trust him.  Remember back when he was running for leadership of the PC Party?  He made an explicit deal with David Orchard, promising (amongst other things) that he would never merge with the Canadian Alliance.  Except of course that within months he was negotiating with Stephen Harper to merge the two parties.  It was the right decision, but how can you trust the man after that?

Rona Ambrose would be an attractive candidate.  Thankfully Maxime Bernier took himself out of the running (though I doubt his candidacy would even be allowed).  Erin O'toole came in third in the last race so I guess he should be considered, though I know little about him.

[Grey Fox]

Doug Ford is learning french. Marilyn Gladu is apparently taking french too.

Quebec media thinks Gérard Deltell is going to make a bid this time.

[Oexmelin]

Isn't Bernard Lord supposed to be running every time and never does?

My favorite is obviously the one who has the highest chance of tanking the Conservatives...

[Barrister]

I don't get the Bernard Lord idea.  Former Premier of New Brunswick isn't that much of a national profile to begin with, but the guy has been out f politics for 13 years now.

[Oexmelin]

I don't get it either. But I think it stems from the realization that you need a bilingual figure if you want to get some people elected in Quebec.