Five Ontario Cities Hold Same-Day Rallies for Publicly Funded Education: Five Unions Representing 255,000 Workers Cite a C$6.5 Billion Funding Gap
Teachers, education workers, parents and community members across Ontario, Canada, held coordinated "Together for Publicly Funded Education" rallies in five cities on the afternoon of October 24. The rallies ran from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time at Queen's Park in Toronto, Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Victoria Park in London, Bell Park in Sudbury and Waverley Park in Thunder Bay. They were hosted by leaders of Ontario's major education unions; the five unions behind the rallies together represent 255,000 workers.
Funding for publicly funded schools was the central issue. Ontario's Financial Accountability Office reported in its latest release that real per-student funding, already near a 10-year low, is set to fall even further, and the unions put the province's public-education funding gap at C$6.5 billion. Other issues raised included the teacher and education-worker recruitment and retention crisis, class sizes and classroom complexity, violence and safety in schools, special-education and mental-health supports, growing provincial control over school boards, and the current round of collective bargaining. With municipal elections days away, the unions said fewer people are running for school trustee in large part because Bill 101 has undermined the role.
"A $6.5-billion funding gap means fewer staff, fewer supports, and fewer opportunities for students. Today, thousands of people across the province are sending a clear message to the Ford government: Ontario's students deserve better, and publicly funded education is worth investing in," said Martha Hradowy, president of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF/FEESO). René Jansen in de Wal, president of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association (OECTA), said teachers have sounded the alarm for years about chronic underfunding and "cannot continue to do more with less." David Mastin, president of the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario (ETFO), said underfunding is leading to larger class sizes, fewer supports and growing unmet student needs. Joe Tigani, president of CUPE's Ontario School Board Council of Unions (OSBCU), called the province's public education system "at a breaking point," citing severe understaffing and rising violence. Gabrielle Lemieux, president of the Association des enseignantes et des enseignants franco-ontariens (AEFO), said the working conditions of teachers and education workers are the learning conditions of students.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于加拿大 Toronto 的安大略省议会大楼，地处 Queen's Park，多伦多站集会在此举行（资料照片）。照片：Reading Tom 摄，CC BY 2.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / File photo: The Ontario Legislative Building at Queen's Park in Toronto, Canada, where the Toronto rally was held. Photo by Reading Tom, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
