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QUEEN’S PARK – Marit Stiles, Leader of the Official Opposition NDP and Shadow Minister for Education Chandra Pasma (Ottawa West – Nepean) joined parents, education leaders, and advocates to call on the Ford government to put students first.
“Parents and families need someone in their corner,” said Stiles. “Every parent wants their kids to have the resources and supports they need in classrooms; we all want a strong public education system that sets our kids up for success. Instead of listening to parents, Doug Ford is cutting them out of our schools entirely, leaving the future of our children in the hands of inexperienced political insiders. As a parent, I know how decisions made in Queen’s Park can hurt our kids in their classrooms. To every parent dealing with the uncertainty and chaos from Ford’s political games: I will be in your corner, and I will fight for our kids. It’s time to stop playing political games with their future.”
“Students have returned to overcrowded classrooms, and educators are being stretched beyond capacity,” said Pasma. “These are symptoms of years of deliberate underfunding by Doug Ford’s Conservatives. Instead of fixing the mess the Conservatives made, Minister Calandra is now threatening to silence parents’ voices entirely. Communities across Ontario don’t want political appointments from downtown Toronto making all the decisions about their kids and local schools. This reckless plan will cut parents out, weaken our schools, and put our kids’ future at risk. It’s time for Ford to stop using schools as battlegrounds for his political games and start investing in our kids’ futures.”
ADDITIONAL QUOTES:
Ontario students are being left behind. Classrooms are overcrowded and violence is rising at an alarming rate. Education workers, who provide essential support, are overwhelmed and facing daily crisis conditions. This isn’t because of elected trustees, but the result of years of chronic underfunding by the Ford government, causing severe understaffing. Students need real investment — not political power grabs.
—Joe Tigani, President, OSBCU
“Local governance ensures that our communities are well served and that decisions reflect local realities and meet the needs of our Francophone communities. Centralizing power and eliminating elected trustees not only weakens democracy and citizen participation but also undermines our institutions and francophone vitality. Local governance is crucial: weakening it means compromising our children’s future and the strength of our communities.”
— Gabrielle Lemieux, President, AEFO
“Instead of addressing the Occasional Teacher retention and recruitment crisis, the use of unqualified/uncertified individuals, overcrowded classrooms, rising violence in schools, and the lack of special education supports, the Ford government is focused on centralizing control and blaming school boards for the funding crisis it created. It is bad government decision-making that has resulted in a cumulative funding gap in public education amounting to approximately $6.35 billion over the past seven years. Trustees are elected to represent our communities. They know our local needs and are best positioned to advocate for students and public education, and they are accountable to the communities they serve.”
— Marisa Gallippi, President, ETFO
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