300 Schools to Close in Ontario because of Birth Rate Crash

LifeSiteNews.com ^ | Thursday April 24, 2008 | Hilary White

[MinorityRepublican]

TORONTO, April 24, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Plummeting birth rates have resulted in the closure of over 300 schools in Ontario and half of the province's school boards have 90,000 fewer students than they did six years ago. 300 schools are slated to be closed in the province simply because there are not enough children to go into them according to a report by People for Education.

"Much of the funding that school boards receive is based on numbers of students," the report said. "As a result, fewer students equals less funding, fewer programs and, in many cases, closing schools." The losses in this report are in addition to the 110 school closures in Ontario between 2004 and 2005.

Four years ago, University of Toronto economics professor David Foot called then-record low birth rate the "revenge of the birth control pill." Foot, the author of 1996's Boom, Bust and Echo, a book on Canadian demographics, said the widespread use of artificial contraception was responsible for fewer children being born in the 1960s and 1970s. This left fewer women of child-bearing age for the next generation, today's mothers.

The number of live births for every 1,000 people, plunged by 25.4 per cent between 1993 and 2005. Despite slight increases, Canada's total fertility rate in 2005 was 1.54 children per woman, an increase of only .01 per cent, but which, nevertheless, is the highest rate since 1998. The latest report from People for Education estimates that there will be 500,000 fewer students in Canada's schools in the next 10 years.

The Ontario Ministry of Education has predicted that by 2010, total elementary and secondary school enrolment will drop by nearly 100,000 students from 2002 numbers.

[samtheman]

Why don’t they just mandate one-student-per-classroom then every teacher gets to keep his/her job.

There. Problem solved.

[CarrotAndStick]

Population Growth Rate, World.

Percentage of Muslims, World.

[fr_freak]

Yep. The replacement rate would have to be 2.0 per woman just to maintain the current population level. Instead, its shrinking.

Actually, it has to be higher than 2.0 to account for all of those people who die before they can have children. So, the 2.1 that someone posted earlier sounds about right.

[chessplayer]

“For millions of years, our distant ancestors led a precarious existence as scavengers, hunters, and gatherers, and there were fewer than 10 million human beings on Earth at any one time. But over the last two centuries, the world’s population has skyrocketed. By October of 1999, some crowded cities had more than 10 million inhabitants each, and six billion people shared space on the planet. Trace the dramatic growth and spread of human populations on our global map, and see where on Earth as many as three billion more people may live by 2050. To launch this interactive, click on the image at left.”

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/worldbalance/numbers.html

Very interesting interactive. The population explosion in Africa is so severe that I can easily envision the time will come when only humans occupy the continent. The wildlife will have to be destroyed to try to feed the poulation.

[fr_freak]

The declining birthrate can be laid at the doorstep of out-of-control abortion on demand.

That is certainly part of it, as well as easy birth control, but I think also, a large part of the reason for decline is the bastardization of marriage in the west, thanks to feminism. In this day and age, a man has to think long and hard before he gets married or has a child (whether in or out of marriage) because the consequences for him, legally, should the relationship with the woman disintegrate, are drastic. A man can get married in full faith, have a couple of children and think he is doing just fine, then one day discover that his wife needs to find herself and is filing for divorce. At that point, he can legally lose all rights to his children, his property and a good chunk of his paycheck merely on her say-so. In addition, she can have him thrown in jail on a mere accusation of domestic violence or child abuse (which is a common tactic during divorce proceeding in order to gain leverage) and the man will find himself dealing with a hostile legal system which tilts all things in the favor of his wife.

Under such conditions, men would be insane to marry. Less marriage means less children. The feminization of our legal system has ruined the institution of marriage and, from what I understand, Canada is one of the worst countries for this kind of thing.

[Does so]

The prospect of going bust doesn't seem to faze the Left.

Just ask the Shakers.

What Shakers?

;-)

[Popman]

But over the last two centuries, the world’s population has skyrocketed.

Very true, mostly due to technology advances in medicine, food production, economic stability in the western world.

It is the same technology that can feed them if only corrupt governments would get out of the way.

[OeOeO]

I think Canucks need a gentle hint. Break out the Panda porn.

[television is just wrong]

quick send some mexicans to fill it up.

[Secret Agent Man]

men no longer putting up with women who believe in global warming?

[chessplayer]

But over the last two centuries, the world’s population has skyrocketed.

“Very true, mostly due to technology advances in medicine, food production, economic stability in the western world.

It is the same technology that can feed them if only corrupt governments would get out of the way.”

When I was a young teen, I had boundles faith that science and technology could solve any and all problems. I`m far from being a Luddite, but I no longer have that boundless faith. For every problem science and technology solves, it also creates new, unforeseen problems. The law of unintended consequences.

[MinorityRepublican]

In 50 years or so, the world population will start to drop. Even in some Muslim nations like Turkey and Tunisia, their birth rate is below 2.0 according to CIA World Factbook.

[MinorityRepublican]

Bttt

[MinorityRepublican]

Bttt

[MinorityRepublican]

Bttt

[Don W]

That’s the point, FRiend...

[ProCivitas]

Great post. About how recent is the Newsweek population-growth map data?

[ProCivitas]

Exactly. bttt.

[CarrotAndStick]

Regarding the maps, the first one is dated 2000.

The second one is more current, not sure when, though.

[Popman]

For every problem science and technology solves, it also creates new, unforeseen problems.

Very true, but I'm talking about the hear and now.

The world has the ability to feed itself today, almost all the the world hungry can be traced back to inept, corrupt or discredited styles of governments