We're putting this site to bed.

I have been an outspoken advocate of public school education for many years.  For more than 30 years my advocacy for public school education has led me to advocate the end of separate school education.

Those of you who live in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Ontario will be familiar with separate school education – a province-wide, wholly government funded, parallel system of locally elected school trustees and systems.  The separate school system is governed exclusively by Roman Catholics with the express purpose of promoting the Canon Law and doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church, to Roman Catholic children and to any other children whose parents choose to have them attend.

The mandate of this site is to promote the ‘disestablishment’ of separate school education.  To put it another way, a ‘Roman Catholic’ education should be a private school education, subject to the same requirements as other private schools and with no more benefits than any other denominational education enjoys in any province.

There are many and solid arguments for ending separate school education, as Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Quebec have already done.  (And Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and British Columbia have never had separate school education.)

Hundreds of people have come to this site, to learn more, to connect with like-minded citizens, and to express support.  I am grateful for your interest.  Keep it up.

The tide is beginning to turn in favour of disestablishment, partly because of what separate schools have done and continue to do in the three provinces and partly because of the history and current actions of other Roman Catholic inspired institutions.  For example Roman Catholic health care facilities still refuse to acknowledge the independence of women with regard to their own health care.  The universal Roman Catholic Church refuses to acknowledge the extent of its complicity in the horror of the Indian Residential Schools.

For me, all of this represents a fork in the road.  It is time for others to take over the project and, indeed, others are taking the lead, with different web sites and other initiatives.  The project needs people with different ideas about how to make progress, and a strong sense of the synergy that is possible if different issues are connected.  The project needs different energy from people who are comfortable with the powerful social media platforms that are emerging.

My colleagues and I are going to put this site to bed.  There are now a number of similar sites, spreading the word and promoting an ever more public and insistent conversation about the need to disestablish Roman Catholic separate school education.  We invite you to look at APUPIL:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/APUPIL/ and other avenues to stay informed.

Sincerely,
David King