others.66 b. Freedom in Religious Education of their Children Subject to few exceptions, education is almost exclusively within the legislative powers of the provincial governments.67 Each province has its own legislation regarding public and religious educational institutions; and therefore, education policy varies between the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec. Stateless persons are not prohibited from attending a religious educational institution of their choice, but as a foreign national they may require a study permit in order to attend the institution.68 Generally, religious education is delivered through private religious schools rather than publicly funded schools. The exception is Ontario, which provides full public funding for Roman Catholic schools, but no funding to any other religious schools.69 In other provinces, such as Alberta, the government provides full public funding for Roman Catholic schools, but also provides partial funding for religious schools that are not Roman Catholic. In British Columbia and Quebec, the provincial government does not fully fund Roman Catholic education, but provides partial funding for faith-based schools.70 The UN Human Rights Committee has criticized Ontario and consistently recommended reform of its policy of only funding Roman Catholic religious education.71 However, despite the Human Rights Committee’s concern, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled in favour of Ontario on this issue.72 Specifically, the Supreme Court states that although Ontario’s practice of only funding Roman Catholic education and no other religious schools is a violation of the freedom of religion and equality provisions of the Charter, section 93 of the Constitution Act, 1867 requires Ontario to fund Roman Catholic schools. The Supreme Court notes that section 93 was constitutionally enshrined as a means to protect the religious right of minorities at the time of Canadian confederation. The Supreme Court also observed that one provision of the constitution (ie. s. 2(a) and/or s. 15 of the Charter) could not be used to invalidate another provision of the constitution (ie. s. 93 of the Constitution Act, 1867). R. v. D.J.W., 2011 BCCA 522, available at: http://canlii.ca/t/fpf37 (affirmed by SCC). This case involved a father accused of performing home circumcision on his son, which caused damage to his son. The father was unable to use s. 2(a) of Charter as a defence since s. 2(a) protects religious beliefs, but not necessarily religious practices when they impact on fundamental rights and freedoms of others. 67 Constitution Act, 1867, supra note 51 at s. 93. The federal government is responsible for the education of registered Indians and provides some funding to the provinces for post-secondary education activities. 68 IRPR, supra note 21 at ss. 9, 188-189. 69 Education Act, RSO 1990, c E.2, at s. 21(1), available at: http://canlii.ca/t/52f6t [Ontario Education Act]. 70 See, Kerry Gillespie, “Families caught in religious schools funding controversy” (11 August 2007), available at: http://tinyurl.com/ppdeh2u; Canadian Secular Alliance, “Briefing note: Funding religious schools” (14 May 2014), available at: http://tinyurl.com/p8pj5gs; Jennifer Wilson, “Faith based schools” (17 September 2007), available at: http://www.cbc.ca/ontariovotes2007/features/features-faith.html. 71 UN Human Rights Committee, Concluding observations of the Human Rights Committee: Canada, 85th Sess., 20 April 2006, at para. 21, available at: http://tinyurl.com/o4w2ppe [UNHRC Concluding Observations 2006]. This observation is a direct result of failing to respond to the Human Rights Committee’s decision in Waldman v. Canada (Communication No. 694/1996), available at: http://www.bayefsky.com//html/162_canada694vws.php. 72 Adler v. Ontario, [1996] 3 SCR 609, available at: http://canlii.ca/t/1fr6t. 66 18