Supreme Court of Canada won’t hear appeal of Theodore case

A legal battle over funding for Catholic schools in Saskatchewan appears to be over.

The Supreme Court of Canada said Thursday it won’t hear an appeal by the Good Spirit School Division (GSSD), which was seeking to overturn a decision regarding funding of the school in Theodore.

On March 25 of last year, the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal ruled unanimously in favour of an appeal of the Theodore case. That overturned a 2017 ruling saying it was unconstitutional for the provincial government to pay for non-Catholic students to attend Catholic schools.

The successful appeal meant the current system of public and separate schools would remain in Saskatchewan.

Now, the Supreme Court’s refusal to hear the case appears to reaffirm that stance.

“We are relieved and reassured by this decision, and we believe it can be considered a victory for both religious and parental rights and freedoms,” Tom Fortosky, the executive director of the Saskatchewan Catholic School Boards Association, said in a statement.

“Even though the Government of Saskatchewan assured us they would do whatever is necessary to protect your choice for your child’s education, this decision definitively confirms what we have said and believed all along: Parents know what is best for their children and they should be able to choose Catholic, faith-based education if that is what they want — no matter their reasons, faith backgrounds or traditions.”

Premier Scott Moe also issued a statement, saying the province supports parent and student choice in education.

“With today’s news that the Supreme Court of Canada has dismissed the leave for appeal to challenge this decision, we are pleased that we can continue to rely on the previous ruling which provides certainty for thousands of families in our province,” he said.

The court case stemmed from a lengthy clash between the public and Catholic school boards around a school in the village of Theodore, about 40 kilometres northwest of Yorkton.

In 2003, Theodore’s public school was set to close, but a group of Catholics in the area successfully petitioned the province to form the Theodore Roman Catholic School Division, which eventually became a part of Christ the Teacher School Division (CTSD).

The group purchased the building and reopened it as a Catholic school.

Whether Catholic or not, parents in the area opted to send their kids to that school instead of busing them to the public school in Springside, about 15 minutes away on Highway 16, under the Good Spirit School Division.

When it first opened, St. Theodore Roman Catholic had 42 students enrolled — but only 13 of them were Roman Catholic. That number has fluctuated over the years.

In 2005, the GSSD filed a legal complaint, alleging it was against the Charter of Rights and Freedoms for the CTSD to get funding for non-Catholic students when the GSSD was the public board in the area.

In 2017, a Yorkton Court of Queen’s Bench justice sided with the GSSD. The Saskatchewan Catholic School Boards Association appealed that decision to the province’s highest court, which overturned the justice’s ruling.

On April 9 of last year, Public Schools of Saskatchewan said it planned to go to the Supreme Court to get the Court of Appeal’s decision tossed out.

Colleen MacPherson, chair of Public Schools of Saskatchewan, said in a media release at the time the case wasn’t about whether separate schools have the right to exist in Saskatchewan, but rather whether they should be receiving public funding while admitting students of a minority faith.

On Thursday, Fortosky said the Supreme Court’s decision meant it was time to move on.

“A significant amount of time and money has been spent on this court case, and we are pleased that we can all refocus our energy and resources on our students and families to build upon the exemplary model of education we have in this province,” he said in the statement.