Archive for the ‘Education Policy Context’ Category
Ford’s slashing of student grants holds poor students back and shows why we need a wealth tax
Thursday, March 19th, 2026
Canadians are fair-minded; we want to live in a society where economic rewards are dispensed — at least to some extent — on the basis of merit… We could come closer to being a meritocracy by imposing a wealth tax, which would take a bit from Canada’s grand fortunes so that poorer kids get a chance to live their dreams.
Tags: budget, Education, ideology, jurisdiction, participation, poverty, tax, youth
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Ontario elementary teachers to get spending accounts for classroom supplies starting this fall, Doug Ford says
Wednesday, March 18th, 2026
The $750 yearly spending accounts to purchase classroom supplies are believed to be a first in Canada… The Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation said while “any relief for teachers who are currently spending their own money on classroom supplies is welcome… The real solution is properly funding schools, so the resources students and educators need are already there.”
Tags: budget, Education, jurisdiction
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Doug Ford’s changes to university funding is good news for universities and terrible news for poor students
Wednesday, February 18th, 2026
Ontario will still be tenth out of ten provinces for per-student funding. But Thursday’s announcement will bring public funding back roughly to its previous all-time high of about $8.5 billion per year. Some of the $5.3 billion is genuinely new. But over 50 per cent of the new money going to universities and colleges is being reallocated from within the Ministry — specifically, by taking about $700 million/year away from… OSAP
Tags: budget, Education, ideology, jurisdiction, participation, poverty
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Doug Ford has learned a hard lesson after starving Ontario’s colleges and universities
Thursday, February 12th, 2026
This week’s boost will not come close to making colleges and universities whole, but a half loaf is better than the premier’s half-baked ideas on postsecondary funding. Tuition can now rise by up to two per cent a year, but for too long the government ignored the initial five per cent increase recommended by its own blue ribbon panel in 2023, alongside fresh funding.
Tags: budget, economy, Education, jurisdiction
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Blame Doug Ford, not international students, for the catastrophe facing Ontario colleges and universities
Tuesday, December 16th, 2025
… years of underfunding, mismanagement and neglect, colleges and universities across the province are slashing programs and cutting jobs… the harm may become irrevocable. Even in the best case, it will take years, and perhaps decades, to repair the damage already done… postsecondary education is a provincial responsibility…
Tags: budget, Education, ideology, immigration, jurisdiction, standard of living
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Ontario won’t have charter schools, board closings or mergers, pledges education minister
Saturday, December 6th, 2025
Education Minister Paul Calandra said Friday that… “There will be no closing of school boards in whatever we do… We’re not amalgamating school boards. I’m not bringing in charter schools. I’m not merging the public system and the Catholic system together… But… nothing has convinced him that the ”$43 billion Ministry of Education budget should be delivered by trustees across the province of Ontario.”
Tags: Education, jurisdiction, participation
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Doug Ford is Trying to Control How Universities Operate
Thursday, September 18th, 2025
Instead of discussing more funding, when parliament is back in session in October, the debate around Bill 33 will resume. Since June, groups representing students, faculty, and administrators have been submitting responses to the bill – every single one… criticizes the proposed legislation, from raising serious concerns about its implementation to condemning it outright.
Tags: budget, Education, ideology, jurisdiction
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A needed cut of Ontario’s school boards
Monday, September 15th, 2025
Vigorous reform would end the charade of off-loading parents’ concerns to increasingly powerless trustees, rather than the existing chain of command within the school system. Overhauling the outdated trustee model will make it much clearer to parents that the government is ultimately responsible for the education of their children.
Tags: budget, Education, ideology, jurisdiction, participation
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Bill 33 doesn’t dissolve Ontario’s school boards — but it’s yet another hit to their power
Wednesday, June 4th, 2025
At the point where cabinet is asserting the power to micro-manage the real estate portfolios of boards (and even pick and choose when schools can be renamed) it’s time to ask whether school boards actually serve a purpose anymore, or whether we’d be better off governing public education with more direct and clear lines of accountability to the premier and his cabinet.
Tags: Education, jurisdiction, participation
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Province urged to take time to rethink flawed post-secondary education bill
Friday, May 10th, 2024
Bill 166 is being touted as a potential law to improve transparency and student mental health, and to combat racism and hate on the province’s post-secondary campuses… The provincial government is using a manufactured crisis as an excuse for increased ill-informed ministerial interference… What we do need is a real solution to the real crisis created by government through more than a decade of funding cuts and squeezes.
Tags: jurisdiction, mental Health, multiculturalism
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