Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne is emphatic: the issue of public funding for private religious schools is over and has been for a while.

In the June 12 provincial election, “the discussion is over in terms of [funding for] faith-based schools,” Wynne told The CJN in a brief telephone interview while campaigning in Sault Ste Marie.

“We went through a very extended discussion on this in the 2007 election campaign, and we’re focusing on the education system as it exists,” said Wynne, a former provincial education minister who became premier in February 2013 following Dalton McGuinty’s unexpected resignation after nine years in office.

“We’ve made a lot of investments in the publicly-funded education system and it’s world-renowned. I think people in Ontario were pretty clear in 2007 that they wanted to see public money go into the public schools.”

Like other provincial politicians, Wynne has doubtless learned a lesson from former Ontario Conservative leader John Tory.

Famously, in the 2007 provincial election, Tory promised to bring faith-based schools into the public system. The pledge, if implemented, would have outdone his predecessor, Mike Harris, who as premier, introduced a tax break for parents of children in religious schools – the first relief of its kind.

At the time, it sounded like small change, but the issue blew up and became the 2007 campaign’s cause celebre. It also cost Tory the race, with many Ontarians soundly declaring that public money should not flow to private and religious schools.

The whole matter of public money for private schools was so hot that when he became premier in 2003, among McGuinty’s first actions was to retroactively cancel the Tories’ Equity in Education Tax Credit, which would have given parents tax breaks of up to $3,500 per child. For virtually his entire time in office, McGuinty came in for harsh criticism in Jewish circles for discriminating against non-Christians, since the Roman Catholic system was and continues to be fully funded.

While that issue is off the table, The CJN asked whether a future Liberal government would at least commit to funding certain health services, such as speech and language therapy, in private and faith-based schools. Apparently, the answer is no.

“Obviously, there are services that are delivered through the [provincial] community care access centres to children who go to a full range of public and private schools,” Wynne said. “So those programs remain in place.”

On the other hand, if re-elected, Wynne’s Liberals are not planning to cut funding to social service agencies.

“As you know, Jewish Family & Child, Reena and Jewish Vocational Service all receive funding from Ontario. We have no plans to cut those.”

What about boosting funding to Jewish social service agencies if needed?

“To the extent that we make investments in services across the board, absolutely,” she said. “Those are the kind of services that we know need support. The work that Reena does, for example, dealing with supporting adults with disabilities… we’ve committed $810 million in our budget as part of our plan, and if we are re-elected, we are going to invest that money in services for people with developmental disabilities.

“I can’t tell you exactly which organizations are going to get how much money,” she noted, “but the fact is that organizations that provide those services should benefit from that money.”

Wynne said Ontario’s warm relationship with Israel is resonating with Jewish voters, and she credits her Liberals for growing it.

It was kick-started in 2005, when then-Israeli deputy prime minister Ehud Olmert and McGuinty signed the Ontario-Israel Memorandum of Understanding, with each side committing about $1 million to facilitate at least a dozen joint economic ventures.

Five years later, McGuinty visited Israel, where President Shimon Peres asked Ontario to partner with Israel on leading-edge brain research.

Wynne pointed out that Eric Hoskins, Ontario’s economic development, trade and employment minister, visited Israel last autumn. In late April, the Liberals announced the opening of an office in Israel to help promote business and trade between the two jurisdictions.

“The relationship between Ontario and Israel is very important,” Wynne said. The trade office “is something that the [Jewish] community is pleased we are moving forward with.”

She also pointed out that it was a Liberal MPP, Mike Colle, who introduced a motion in 2012 to designate each May as Jewish Heritage Month in Ontario. The measure received all-party support.

Asked whether she has perceived a coattail effect, in which Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s staunch support for Israel has attracted voters to provincial Tory Leader Tim Hudak, Wynne said, “I haven’t experienced that, quite frankly.”

She added: “I have always worked closely with the Jewish community, from before the time I was in provincial politics, and so I have not experienced that. We have a firm position that we have had always, and we will continue to support a democratic State of Israel [and] believe Israel has the right to defend itself.

“I see the Jewish community very much as part of the fabric of this province and a very important part of the fabric of this province. That’s always been my position and continues to be.”