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This month we learned about a Calgary principal who was pushed out of the largest Catholic school district in the province because of her sexual orientation. We also learned about the fear many vulnerable Catholic students in Edmonton and Calgary face in a culture of systemic discrimination.

Finally, Albertans are now questioning the enormous $2-billion annual contribution of Alberta taxpayers to subsidize the religious inculcation of students in Catholic schools — and the discriminatory human rights’ practices of a redundant institution.

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Secular Alberta desires the end of all public subsidies to private religious choices. As a measured first step, we recommend an immediate transition to the British Columbia model of 50-per-cent funding, as opposed to 100-per-cent funding in Alberta.

Currently, Catholics derive unique religious privilege within Alberta’s education system far beyond the contemplations of those who wrote the 1905 Alberta Act. It’s past time for the Catholic Church — valued by some experts to be the wealthiest corporation in the world — to begin contributing financially towards Alberta’s Catholic school system.