The Department of Education signed a memorandum of understanding on roles and responsibilities in Catholic schools with the Catholic Episcopal Corporation of Whitehorse
The Catholic Episcopal Corporation of Whitehorse and the Yukon Department of Education have signed off on a new agreement at the start of the school year.
The memorandum of understanding, signed Aug. 15, is an addition to the provisions of the Education Act and the 1962 Agreement between the Catholic Episcopal Corporation and the Commissioner of the Yukon. Both allow for the operation of Catholic separate schools within the public school system in the Yukon.
According to assistant deputy-minister Ash Kayseas, there was no memorandum of understanding between the two parties prior to this.
“This particular MOU really sets the stage for further protocols to be developed,” Kayseas said. “It’s really our first step in terms of getting clarity on roles and responsibilities.”
There are three public schools in the territory that offer Catholic education: St. Francis of Assisi Secondary School, Christ the King Elementary School, and Holy Family Elementary School. All are located in Whitehorse.
Religious education fees are $25 per student or $45 per family, annually.
In 2024, parents of students at St. Francis of Assisi Secondary School raised concerns with “homophobic teachings” at the school, including a textbook they said condemned homosexuality as being unnatural.
Earlier this year, Jackie Hong of CBC Yukon reported that the principal of Holy Family Elementary School stepped down. In a letter to the school council, the principal accused Whitehorse bishop Hector Vila of harassment and interference in the school.
The new MOU draws out responsibilities of both the department of education and the Catholic Episcopal Corporation.
The Department of Education commits to providing high-quality public education, engage the Episcopal Corporation prior to issuing any department-wide mandates, priorities, policies or educational standards on any matter that relates to Catholic schools, oversee the operations of the Catholic schools, including budgeting and financial reporting.
The roles of the Episcopal Corporation include providing recommendations to the education department on: curricula, programs and resources, educational staffing, professional development and school-based activities in Catholic schools.
The recommendations will be related to aspects of Catholic values, morals, and identity.
An emailed statement, attributed to Bishop Hector Vila, said that the MOU “affirms that Yukon Catholic Separate Schools focus on shaping the whole person and are rooted in the values of dignity, compassion, service, and community, while welcoming every family who chooses Catholic education.”
Kayseas told the News that “there was really no in-depth discussions around particular Catholic values.”
“This really set the stage in terms of further conversations, more detailed conversations.”
According to the MOU, one of the roles of the Catholic Episcopal Corporation is to exercise “exercise evaluative and approval authority regarding the suitability, with respect to the Catholic identity and Catholic mission, of administrators and educational staff in Catholic separate schools.”
That point concerns NDP MLA Lane Tredger.
“To me, that says they have veto power over the hiring of administrators and teachers,” Tredger said to the News.
Kayseas said that’s not the case: “What that is speaking to is the bishop’s ability to participate on the hiring panels, and really he’s bringing forward the perspective of the suitability of Catholic identity of any applicants. But that does not give him veto power.”
YG still retains ultimate responsibility over the hiring process, Kayseas said.
Tredger grew up attending Catholic schools in Whitehorse.
“There’s lots of things about my time in those schools that were really great and positive,” Tredger said.
“As a student in those schools, I had classrooms where I felt really, really great and safe, and I had classrooms where I didn’t, and that’s what I want to change.”
Tredger said their understanding was the negotiations were going to clarify the Catholic schools’ obligations to follow education policies such as the sexual orientation and gender identity policy.
The sexual orientation and gender identity policy — also often referred to as SOGI — lays out standards and procedures to create a zero-tolerance environment for homophobic, transphobic and gender- or sexuality-based discrimination, bullying, and harassment.
“When I look at this agreement, I don’t see that there. I see, I don’t really see anything in this agreement that’s going to change, you know, the decades-long pattern of homophobia and transphobia we’re seeing,” Tredger said.
“If anything, I think it makes, this agreement, makes it clear the bishop does have the right to intervene within staff issues and in hiring, and really solidifies that, that power.”
Education assistant deputy minister Carolyn Lewis-Shillington told the News over the phone on Aug. 26 that as Catholic schools are part of the public system, they must follow all Department of Education policies, including the sexual orientation and gender identity policy.
“Every student, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, has the opportunity to learn in an environment that’s safe, inclusive and respectful,” Lewis-Shillington said.
“Our Catholic schools must follow SOGI policy, and they clearly understand that.”
During the most recent sitting of the Yukon legislature this past spring, the leader of the Yukon NDP, Kate White, told reporters that public funds should not be going towards Catholic schools in the Yukon.
“Let’s defund Catholic education in the Yukon. Let’s make it truly fair,” White said to reporters after question period at the Yukon legislature on March 10.
“There’s lots of jurisdictions in Canada where you, as a taxpayer, get to check whether you want your funding for education to go to Catholic schools or public schools. I wish that was the case here.”
The Education department told the News via email on Aug. 27 that religious classroom materials have occasionally been purchased with department funds in the past.
“Given the historical timeframe of more than 60 years, we don’t have a reliable total for the amount spent,” spokesperson Michael Edwards wrote.
“The funding protocol that is currently being developed by the department and the Episcopal Corporation will bring clarity to this issue, so roles, approvals, and costs are clear and transparent going forward.”
Actual costs provided by the Department of Education show that the department spent just under $17 million on the three Catholic schools during the 2023-24 school year. They spent $5,994,133 on Christ the King Elementary School, $6,998,270 on St. Francis of Assisi Secondary School, and $3,992,097 on Holy Family Elementary School.
Per student that works out to $16,377 per student at Christ the King Elementary, $17,111 per student at St. Francis of Assisi, and $21,911 at Holy Family.
The Department of Education also provided costs for similar non-Catholic public schools: the department spent $6,428,180 on Selkirk Elementary School ($17,234 per student), $8,633,124 on Porter Creek Secondary ($16,731 per student) and $3,797,537 on Hidden Valley Elementary ($21,097 per student).
Kayseas said it was encouraging that the Catholic Episcopal Corporation and the Education department now have a clear sense of roles and responsibilities.
“Ultimately, I think it’s going to be families and students who benefit the most, as well as administrators.”
With files from Dana Hatherly
Contact Talar Stockton at [email protected]