“One can subsidize private religious schools without funding religious instruction,” Liberal MNA Désirée McGraw says.
In a statement posted on social media Monday, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce MNA Désirée McGraw said she does not support defunding of private schools — religious or otherwise — as long as they comply with the Ministry of Education and government regulations.
“Any religious instruction must be financed by parents or other private means,” McGraw wrote. “In sum, one can subsidize private religious schools without funding religious instruction.
“My position is consistent with the principles underscored by our interim leader, Marc Tanguay, in explaining the meaning of our vote during last Thursday’s news conference.”
In an interview Monday, McGraw said she felt a need to clarify the way the vote process took place inside the 19-member Liberal party caucus. There was a first discussion on a motion to defund being pitched by the other opposition party, Québec solidaire.
“I spoke against it,” McGraw said. “I made it clear I do not support the defunding of religious schools. There was no case or evidence backing up the idea.”
That motion was never voted on in the legislature because the Coalition Avenir Québec government blocked it.
Later, the PQ returned with a different motion to reinforce secularism in public schools, which includes a clause on defunding religious schools in the wake of allegations that religion had crept into the classroom at Bedford elementary.
In the case of the second motion, which she also opposed, McGraw said the Liberal caucus decided to support it which left her no choice but to follow the party line.
Saint-Laurent Liberal MNA Marwah Rizqy had announced a day earlier in the house that the Liberals were dropping their old policy, a statement that surprised McGraw, Prass and other Liberals.
“I would have preferred to remove that clause but in the name of solidarity I did (vote),” McGraw said.
The resolution in the end went nowhere because the CAQ government used its majority to vote it down.
But McGraw was not the only one displeased with the vote. So were many Liberal members.
“I think it’s a step in the right direction,” McGraw said noting the process will provide ample opportunity to share the views of constituents and the communities affected.
McGraw said she now intends to meet with the directors of the private schools in her riding including Loyola High School and Villa-Maria College to “ensure they remain the vital institutions that power our community.
“While these discussions are important, we must not be distracted from the problem,” McGraw said praising Rizqy for her courage in “raising the alarm bell about schools like Bedford.”
“I am disheartened that government officials have been derelict in their first duty of care which must always be the welfare of the students.”
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