ABSTRACT
Modifications were made in regard to rights and privileges for denominational and separate schools for the provinces of Manitoba, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland when they subsequently joined as provinces of Canada. The principal questions at hand were whether the Ontario Legislature had the right to pass Bill 30, thus expanding the constitutionally protected denominational rights of Roman Catholics, and whether Bill 30 was immunized from the Charter. The Court stated, in the Casagrande decision, that denominational rights include “all rights and powers necessary to maintain the denominational character of schools, and more specifically included the right to dismiss teachers for denominational causes”. The Newfoundland Court of Appeal upheld the rights pertaining to denominational schools, with regard to teacher dismissal, as guaranteed in section 29 of the Charter. There is little doubt that section 29 of the Charter reaffirms rights guaranteed under section 93 of the Constitution Act 1867 regarding denominational, separate and dissentient schools.
