“The mask is off,” Pasma sounds alarm about Minister of Education’s plans to shut out the voices of parents and communities from schools

OTTAWA – Ontario NDP Shadow Minister of Education Chandra Pasma made the following statement in response to Ford’s education minister’s comments on Newstalk 1010 about eliminating school board trustees by the end of the year:

“The mask is off. The Minister has made clear he is ready and willing to move quickly to cut parents and communities out from being able to have a say in their children’s education.

“Families deserve accountable, local representation who know their communities and who can stand up for students and parents. This dangerous power grab by Doug Ford and Paul Calandra will mean that parents have nowhere to turn but an out-of-touch minister at Queen's Park or inexperienced political insiders who don’t have our kids’ best interests in mind.

“What we see in Quebec and Nova Scotia should be a warning sign. Ontario families can’t afford to lose this crucial voice in their education system.

“The Ford government needs to stop this reckless plan before it causes irreparable damage to our schools, our communities, and our children’s future.” 

FACT CHECK

MINISTER’S CLAIM: The Ford government is providing record funding for education.

FACT: Education funding under this government has not kept pace with inflation or enrollment growth. Schools are receiving less funding per student this year than they did in 2018-19 when adjusted for inflation. The total shortfall under this government amounts to $6.3 billion.

MINISTER’S CLAIM: The vast majority of boards across the province are running surpluses.

FACT: The Ministry of Education’s own documents show that 40% of school boards are running a deficit and that the number of boards in deficit is growing under the Conservatives.

MINISTER’S CLAIM: The Minister wants to refocus Professional Development days on helping teachers teach.

FACT: The Minister just imposed a new requirement that all teachers in the province spend a day of Professional Development learning about School Resource Officer programs, whether such a program exists in their board or not.

MINISTER’S CLAIM: Teacher shortages are the result of teacher absenteeism.

FACT:The Ministry of Education’s own documents report that teacher shortages are the result of a growing gap between teacher retirements and student enrollment. WSIB data also shows that injury claims from educators are increasing year over year as rates of violence in our schools are growing.