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As the UN has ruled, unless Ontario wants to fund separate schools for all religions, there should be one system for all. On principle, the Ontario government should not provide funding for religious educaâ€" tion â€" it‘s simply not the government‘s responsibility. Moreover, govâ€" ernment funding of schools for one religion (or nine or 12}, will always leave out other religions. Even if we agree with funding for religious education, we simply cannot afford to fund all religions who may wish to have their own school system (for example, the comâ€" plainant who took the issue to the UN is now asking for $100,000 in reimbursement for his children alone} For a government that prides itself on being bold and revolutionary in its willingness to offend vested interests, the Harrisites‘ response on this issue has been pathetically weak. Education Minister Janet Ecker issued a terse statement after the ruling, indicating her "commitment to... the existing system" She and her successors will never see a better window of apportu nity to reform a system that is both unjust and inefficient It simply doesn‘t make any sense to continue to allocate public resources toward preserving a Catholic voice in education when all sorts of negative budgetâ€"driven changes are being made to our school system. The publicâ€"Catholic split should no longer define our school boards. In 1867, the public system was a Protestant one, so it followed that Catholics would want their own schools. Now that public schools are secular, there is no justification for a separate system exclusively for the adherents of one religion. ‘ - Ontario has provided fullâ€"funding for Catholic schools only since 1984 (parâ€" Scott Piatkowski tal funding having been a reality since Conlfederation}. There was no consultaâ€" tion before the decision was made in the dying days of the Bill Davis regime. "One day you arrive in caucus, and you find out that we‘ve announced fullâ€"funding to Catholic schools." Jamented current {at press time}) cabinet minister Tony Clement when I spoke to him in On Nov 5. a United Natons human rights trbunal ruled that Ontano‘s archaic practice of funding Roman Catholic schools disâ€" criminates against adherents of other religrons. It gave the Ontario government 90 days in which to reply to the nonâ€"binding ruling either by extending funding to other religions who wish to have their awn schools or by moving to end funding for Catholic schools. I have been arguing for years that the latter is the only sensible course of action and hope that a nudge from the UN will help to bring it about In the past two years, two provinces have made major changes to their school systems. In 1997, Newfoundlanders voted 73 per cent in favour of removing church control over their school system, which had long been fragmented along religious lines (with up to nine sysâ€" tems in some areas). It would have been virtually impossible to achieve such a stunning majonty without a majority of all religious groups â€" paruicularly Catholics, which make up 37 per cent of the province‘s population. Most voters, of all faiths, were convinced that their children would benefit from a sinâ€" a gle, nonâ€"denominational school system 1996 dbléig C M FACTORY SHOWROOM 21 Allen St. W. 585â€"1000 Aon Wed 65 Thiss & P 98 San 120 An opening for school reforms Around the same time, the province of Quebec transformed its churchâ€"based school boards into boards based on lanâ€" guage. After the federal government passed minor constitutional amendments, these two provinces proved that it is possible to change an education system that was designed to meet the needs of the 19th century â€" just in time for us to move into the 21st. nsmd & vll cmmcmmnmenes # us Peets en en o. Fine Home Furnisly in Uptown Waterloo * "We‘re more than just tables and chairs!" Livingroom Suites * Bedroom Suites * Kitchen & Dining Sets * Chairs * Office Furniture * Lamps * Bar & Kitchen Counter Stools * Home Accents A big thumbs up for all those involved in the fruition of Solé Restaurant and Wine Bar, which held its grand openâ€" ing Sunday. The restaurant, located on Erb Street West, is the first business to open its doors on the Seagram land development. Nine years ago, the former Seagram machine shop (built in 1858) was destined for demolition. But thanks to the foresight of Peter De Groot (who now owns the building), it was saved and renovated, and now houses one of the most stunning restaurants this community has seen. At the opening festivities Sunday, (from left) Cambridge Mayor Jane Brewer, De Groot, Waterloo Mayor Joan McKinnon, Solé partner Alec Cerny, and Kitchener Mayor Carl Zehr cut the ceremonial ribbon. The Waterloo Chronicle welcomes letters to the editor. They should be signed with name, address and phone numâ€" ber and will be verified for accuracy. No unsigned letters will be published. Submissions may be edited for length, so please be brief. Copyright in letters and other materials submitted to the publisher and accepted for publication remains with the author, but the publisher and its licensees may freely reproduce them in print, electronic or other forms. Our mailing address is 75 King St. S., Suite 201, Waterloo, N2J1P2, our eâ€"mail address is wehronicle@sentex.net, and our fax number is 886â€"9383. ou said fit "That‘s why we‘re here â€" because of them (veterâ€" ans}. 1 especially rememâ€" ber what my grandfather and grandparents did." "Just to remember what they (veterans) did for us and our country, and reflect on their giving their lives for us A big thumbs up Letters policy Diane Gilson Brent Grein "It means remembering a lot of the buddies we lost. We went over to France in 1939 with 200,000 men and came back with less than 100,000." "For me it means you should remember the peoâ€" ple who fought for our country and the sacrifices they made for us Bob Villiers Tricia Mills