Catholic School Head Defends Ontario's Separate Catholic System

In Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, the president of the Canadian Catholic School Trustees' Association, Bonaventure Fagan, defended Ontario's separate publicly-funded Catholic school system against critics who argue that the province could save money by moving to a single system for all children. Yesterday's Sault Star quotes Fagan as saying that the dismantling of the separate Catholic system in Newfoundland and Labrador did not produce savings. Fagan told the paper that a secular system does not answer the need that Catholic parents have for educating their children. He said: "We don't apologize: we believe God is essential, He plays an essential role in our daily affairs." He also said he would not oppose new separate school systems for other religious denominations.