Pay it now or pay it later

The only one who will make money off the class action school fee issue is Tony Merchant - and it will be your money filling his pocket. The class action suits he is looking at will net very little to those signing on - in fact what they will pay in increased taxes for this will exceed what they may recover.

Although I believe schools have increasingly exceeded what school fees were intended for, without them these same parents will be complaining that the school isn't meeting expectations for students. At the elementary level student fees generally covered costs for out-of-school excursions, classroom parties (ie Christmas, year end), Kleenex, etc. They were not intended to cover costs related to curriculum.

At the high school level many of the fees relate to elective classes. In grade 12, when the fee is highest, some of its goes to grad activities. All of these activities can be done away with, but when they go then you will hear the howl - or alternatively taxes will go up, either locally or provincially, to cover these costs.

What next? Should tax payers have to pay for student's school supplies?

If I sign on for reimbursement of 26 years of student fees, will I be required to prove I paid them or do I just add my name to the list and hope for cash settlement on the belief it will cost me nothing?

You would think that the $30 million plus federal tax dollars Merchant earned off the residential school claims would be enough to retire on. It must be true that you can't be too rich or beautiful.