The provincial government plans to invoke the notwithstanding clause in the Catholic school court controversy.

Earlier this month, Justice Donald Layh ruled that the provincial government could no longer fund non-Catholic students to attend Catholic schools in the province effective June 30, 2018. That ruling was in response to a 12-year court battle between the public Good Spirit School Division (GSSD) and Christ the Teacher School Division (CTSD), a Catholic board.

After the GSSD closed the school in Theodore, northwest of Yorkton, CTSD was formed and they purchased the building that housed the public school. Several parents chose to have their children attend the new Catholic school, as opposed to the kids being bused to the public Springside school, 15 kilometres away. GSSD then filed legal action, claiming CTSD should not get provincial funding for the non-Catholic students.

Justice Layh ruled in favour of GSSD on April 21. Last week the Saskatchewan Catholic School Boards Association announced they would appeal the ruling, and Premier Brad Wall also said they would fight the decision.

“We support school choice including public, separate and faith-based schools,” Wall said in a news release on Monday. “We will defend school choice for students and parents. By invoking the notwithstanding clause we are protecting the rights of parents and students to choose the schools that work best for their families, regardless of their religious faith.”

Section 33 of The Charter of Rights and Freedoms gives provincial legislatures the authority to override certain portions of the Charter for a five year term. Invoking the notwithstanding clause requires an Act of the Legislative Assembly.

“I have asked the Ministers of Education and Justice to begin preparing legislation to invoke the notwithstanding clause to protect choice in our school system,” Wall said. “We wanted to announce this now to provide clarity and provide parents with the assurance that they will be able to continue to choose the kind of school they want their children to attend.”

The Layh ruling potentially affects about 10,000 non-Catholic students attending Catholic schools in the province. Education Minister Don Morgan has said that if those students were forced to pay for a separate school education, the cost could be about $10,000 per student.