Ontarians who want to scrap $7 billion in taxpayer support for separate schools outnumber those who favour it, a new poll says in the wake of Catholic objections to an anti-bullying law passed Tuesday.

The poll, conducted Monday by Forum Research Inc., found that 48 per cent of Ontario residents disagreed with taxpayer support of Catholic schools while 43 per cent agreed with a continuation of public funding. Eight per cent were unsure.

Months of debate over gay-straight alliances has reignited the question of Catholic school funding, with activists for a single, secular public school system vowing to keep the pressure on — even though the three major parties at Queen’s Park refuse to touch the issue.

“The genie is absolutely out of the bottle and the public is demanding a conversation about modernizing our public school system,” said Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner.

“We need to merge the best of the Catholic and public system into one publicly funded education system, French and English.”

Education Minister Laurel Broten, while reaffirming the minority Liberal government’s support for separate school funding, left no doubts she’s well aware of a public split.

“I acknowledge and know that there are many different opinions when it comes to the number of school boards we should have.”

The turning point this time was Catholic objections to Bill 13, the Accepting Schools Act, requiring principals to allow students to call anti-homophobia support groups “gay” clubs or similar names, said lawyer Douglas Elliott of the Gay-Straight Alliance Coalition.

Cardinal Thomas Collins, president of the Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Ontario, branded the amendment an attack on “religious freedom” while a Catholic school trustee group said the word gay in club names would be a “distraction” in schools where religious doctrine holds that homosexual acts are wrong.

“It’s been interesting to see how the debate around Bill 13 quickly shifted from should Catholic schools be required to allow these clubs to why do we have publicly funded Catholic schools?” said Elliott.

“I think the Catholic conservatives have really overplayed their hand.”

The Assembly of Catholic Bishops declined to comment Tuesday on the funding debate, saying Catholic educators will “foster safe and welcoming school communities” despite “serious concerns” over the bill.

The poll results released Tuesday show that the question of funding “is not going away,” said Forum president Lorne Bozinoff.

“It’s become a big issue. It’s clear that Ontarians are losing patience with the Catholic church’s stand on gay-straight alliances … the church may regret its position later.”

The poll, which also found support for gay-straight alliances had increased, was conducted by telephone with 1,038 random respondents.

Meanwhile, Premier Dalton McGuinty — a Catholic whose wife Terri teaches in the Catholic system — felt wrath from the pulpit after telling Collins that the province runs the education system, not the Roman Catholic church.

At Sunday mass, a priest at St. Mary Immaculate Church in Richmond Hill dubbed the premier a “puny politician” during a minute-long criticism of the anti-bullying bill and urged parishioners to rise up.

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McGuinty shrugged off the barb after being told about it.

“I’ve been called a lot worse . . . outside and inside the home, I must say,” he told reporters.

“Discrimination against children on the basis of whatever, including their sexual orientation, is no longer acceptable,” he added. “I am convinced that once we have this in place that Catholic schools, Catholic teachers, Catholic principals and Catholic parents will understand its true significance.”

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