Article content

Saskatchewan’s Court of Appeal has upheld provincial funding for non-Catholic students in Catholic schools, reversing a lower-court decision that pushed the government to consider a seldom-used constitutional escape hatch.

The unanimous decision means the government will not have to invoke the notwithstanding clause, as it had promised to do. That could change if public school divisions appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada, though there is so far no clear plan to do so.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Sask. Court of Appeal sides with Catholic divisions in school funding case Back to video

Catholic school boards and the government had both argued that funding based on enrolment of all students, regardless of religious affiliation, is necessary to ensure “school choice” for parents.

Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Donald Layh disagreed in a 2017 decision, declaring that the funding violates “the state’s duty of religious neutrality,” contradicting the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

But an appeal sent the question back to court in March 2019. More than a year later, the province’s highest court overturned Layh’s ruling in a decision released Wednesday.