Confusion reigns about the need for a census that was delivered this week to area homes.
The form was delivered to residents in St. Albert, the towns of Morinville and Legal and parts of Sturgeon County. It asks explicit information from residents about their faith.
The census is accompanied by a form letter from former education minister Dave Hancock.
“The personal information collected will enable the ministry to determine the minority denomination; to consider all of the options available to appropriately meet the interests of both separate school and public school electors; and to assist in the implementation of any steps necessary to ensure these interests are met,” the letter reads.
The questions specifically require residents to check off a box labelling themselves as Roman Catholic, Protestant or other.
“A Roman Catholic is defined as an individual who recognizes the Pope as the head of the church (e.g., Greek Catholic, Ukrainian Catholic). A Protestant is defined as a Christian who is not a Roman Catholic. A person who is neither Roman Catholic nor Protestant is defined as Other,” the form says.
Residents may also check ‘Declined’ if they prefer not to complete the census.
Pivotal Research will conduct the survey. This is the same firm that last spring surveyed Morinville residents to determine whether they wished to have their children attend the public Greater St. Albert Catholic schools or a non-faith-based school.
But Protestant School Board chair Joan Trettler wonders about the reasoning behind the census.
“We’re concerned and have expressed our views (to Alberta Education),” the separate school board chair said as she referenced the historical reasons behind the naming of a school district as either separate or public.
“When school districts were set up in 1905 the first system in the area was deemed the public system. In St. Albert the first schools were the Catholic schools,” she said.
Greater St. Albert Catholic School chair Lauri-Ann Turnbull refused to speculate on the reasons for the census, but saw value in knowing the results.
“We’re encouraging people to fill out the form because it could determine how Catholic education is delivered in this area,” she said.
There are slight differences in the way taxing provisions are outlined in the Alberta School Act, Trettler noted.
“The Alberta School Act allows separate school boards to have the right to tax. There is no provision for public boards. So we feel protected being separate. The public system doesn’t have special (taxation) rights,” she said.
She sees no reason to change the status quo and is nervous about the outcome.
“Who knows what will happen with the new provincial ministry. We were not asked if we’d like to see this survey. We weren’t told it was going to happen and we prefer to stay the way we are,” Trettler said.
