June 11, 2008
TORONTO - Ontario schools shouldn't "pick and choose" which children can enter the classroom based on their immigration status, Premier Dalton McGuinty said Wednesday amid calls for the province to adopt a "don't ask, don't tell" policy to keep school doors open to all kids.
By law, no child under 18 in Ontario can be denied access to schools because of their immigration status or that of their parents, but a new study released Wednesday indicates some Toronto schools are shutting out the children of illegal immigrants.
"If a child shows up at the door looking for an education, our responsibility is to provide that education," McGuinty said.
"If the federal government feels that that child and that family should not be in our province, then that's something they should do something about. But we're not going to start picking and choosing which kids are going to be allowed in the classroom."
Four adults who responded to the study by the Community Social Planning Council of Toronto reported that their children had been denied enrolment in a Toronto District School Board school based on immigration status.
One parent was rejected by four different schools, the report said.
Other parents were hesitant to try and enrol their children in school for fear of being reported to immigration officials by administrators, the report found.
Fifteen of the 17 respondents said immigration status came up during the enrolment process, the report said. Some were asked to provide proof of immigration status, such as passports, refugee papers, visas, or an application pending an immigration decision.
The council is urging the province to enforce the law and forbid school officials from asking about the immigrant status of students, parents or guardians, or sharing that information with others, including police and immigration officials.
Schools are turning away children who have the right to an education, yet McGuinty isn't taking any action, said NDP critic Cheri DiNovo.
"We need a provincewide policy of 'don't ask, don't tell,"' she said.
"Our first and only duty, really, should be the education of our children. We shouldn't be visiting the sins of the parents, if you will, on their children."
Immigration rules should be enforced, but not by school officials, said Progressive Conservative critic Peter Shurman.
"Ten thousand kilometres away, families await immigration to Canada who have completed the forms in a legal way, want to come here and obviously they have children who want an education," he said.
"And the places for those children are being taken by illegals."
The study was conducted after four children attending two schools in the Toronto Catholic District School Board were apprehended by immigration officials in April 2006 and subsequently deported along with their families.
The Toronto District School Board adopted a "don't ask, don't tell" policy in May 2007 in response to the incident.
But the report said parents are still being asked their date of entry into Canada and documentation, which the board claims is necessary to receive provincial funding for English as a second language programs and to determine whether a student should be charged international fees, which can cost about $12,000 for a full year.
Only 15 adults and two youths participated in the study because of limited funding and the challenge of recruiting respondents due to fear of being reported to authorities, the report noted.
An estimated 20,000 to 200,000 people who lack full immigration status live in Canada.