organized prayer services will not resume in November
September 25, 2011 Toronto – Freedom Party leader Paul announced that, if a Freedom government is elected on October 6, 2011, the planned November resumption of Islamic prayer services at Toronto’s Valley Park Middle School will be canceled. Freedom Party’s 2011 election plank promises to separate organized religious practice from Ontario’s secular public school system.
“Protests over Valley Park Middle School’s prayer services have been ignored by Dalton McGuinty’s Liberals and Tim Hudak’s Progressive Conservatives”, says Freedom Party leader, Paul McKeever. “Both Dalton McGuinty and Tim Hudak have refused to do anything about this improper use of our public schools, saying it is up to the Toronto District School Board. And, in the case of Tim Hudak, it has become apparent that he actually wants to turn some of our public schools into taxpayer funded religious public schools, so we will not see Hudak’s Progressive Conservatives taking steps to shut down these prayer services.”
“To everyone in Ontario who is concerned about what is happening to our public schools in the name of alleged religious accommodation, to the TDSB, and to the Principle of Valley Park Middle School, I make this promise. If elected on October 6, a Freedom government will take immediate steps to ensure that organized prayer services are no longer carried out in Ontario public schools. Dalton McGuinty’s new prayer-in-public-schools policy will not be permitted to spread to the rest of the public school system across this great province. The Valley Park Middle School plan to resume prayer sessions in November will be canceled immediately after a Freedom government is elected.
“In the meantime, I am calling upon those who have been protesting outside the TDSB or who plan to protest outside of the school to stop doing so and, instead, to focus on getting out the vote for Freedom. There are Freedom Party candidates running in 23 of Toronto’s 24 ridings, and in 57 ridings across Ontario. Simply placing an X in the circle next to your Freedom Party candidate’s name on the ballot is the most effective way of taking charge and putting an end to organized religious practice in Ontario’s public schools.”
One of the 12 Freedom Party election commercials currently airing on television, around the clock, is the party’s commercial on prayer in our public schools. It can be viewed on Freedom Party’s youtube channel, here.
For further details, contact:
Paul McKeever, Leader – Freedom Party of Ontario
e-mail: pmckeever@freedomparty.on.ca
Freedom Party’s election platform can be viewed here.
An iPhone/iPod compatible Audiobook version of the platform can be down loaded here.
Freedom Party’s 12 television advertisements all can be viewed here.