It was shoulder-to-shoulder today at the corner of Yonge Street and Savage Road as community groups, parents, students, and the local branch of the Canadian Union of Public Employees stood together with members of the four largest teacher unions in a provincewide walkout not seen since the labour unrest of more than 20 years ago.
Supporters said they were demonstrating to protect the future of publicly funded education in Ontario and urged the Ford government and Education Minister Stephen Lecce to get back to the negotiating table and start “bargaining in good faith”.
“I think they can come to some sort of agreement if the government starts focusing on the real issues at hand, like concerns around mandatory e-learning and manageable class sizes, and stop focusing on teachers’ salaries,” said York Communities for Public Education spokesperon Shameela Shakeel who, along with local activist group Common Ground, organized the protest at the plaza where Newmarket-Aurora MPP Christine Elliott’s constituency office is located.
“These frontline workers are not in it for the money,” Shakeel said. “Every single day, they have to deal with students’ complex behavioural needs, they have to be social workers and psychologists all rolled into one, and they are expected to teach through all that — and they do it. We have fantastic teachers and they need to be respected and valued.”
CUPE Local 905 members attended the demonstration in support of the education workers strike to protect the future of public education, union president Katherine Grzejszczak said.
“That means a lot for all working people who rely on a free, world-class education system,” Grzejszczak said. “I know this is an issue for our members who can’t afford to be paying for private education in the future, and so we’re supporting the teachers.”
Newmarket’s Dr. John M. Denison Secondary School teacher Tracey Barder, who teaches history, Indigenous studies, and civics to grades 10 to 12 students, said a reduction in course selection, class sizes that top 30 for her, and forced online learning are failing students.
“I get upset when I hear people say we’re greedy, we’ve already lost 2 per cent of our pay and for me, 22 years in, it’s about the changes I’m seeing and how much harder it’s getting to serve the kids, especially the special education students,” said Barder.
The local teacher also noted the high failure rates among students for even optional e-learning courses as a concern.
“And how about the kids who don’t have the money for the internet or computers? I mean, there’s no consideration. They’re just looking at it to make cuts and will end up laying off the youngest teachers who have the most energy,” Barder said, her voice strained with frustration.
“What they’re trying to do is erode public education,” she said. “I’m working 60 to 65 hours a week, easily. I earn my money. I have one class right now, and there’s three kids with autism. So many kids have been identified with learning disabilities and I’m really exhausted trying to deal with it. I love my job but it’s getting harder and harder.”
Meanwhile, trustees of the York Region District School Board waded into the mandatory online learning controversy in a letter released publicly to Education Minister Stephen Lecce.
Chairperson Juanita Nathan outlined the board’s concerns about the effectiveness and challenges of online learning, including scalability, learning conditions, accessibility, learner profiles, class size, and student perspective.
“In reviewing our own district, scaling up to be able to successfully implement the online requirement of two courses for students graduating in 2023-2024 would result in significant human resource and financial costs,” Nathan said.
Nathan asked Lecce to provide answers to the following questions:
- As the potential implications of online learning are currently unknown, will you commit to reporting on a transparent and robust consultation process to inform the implementation plan?
- As Minister of Education, you have stated that, based on research, nearly all students can be successful in an online learning environment as long as they have access to the right supports. Will you share the literature review that provided the basis for this premise?
- And, will you share the detailed plan of the “right supports” required for success and how these will be implemented and funded?
NewmarketToday also asked those same questions to Lecce, to which he and his office did not answer.
Instead, a spokesperson emailed a snippet from Thursday’s Question Period at Queen’s Park:
“Obviously, through the negotiations, the aim of the government, including on subject matters like online learning, is to get a deal. Right now we're negotiating with two of our partners. The aim is to get predictability and stability in the sector,” Lecce said.
“Our kids should be in school. When it comes to the vision and when it comes to the mission of our negotiating mandate, it is to continue to see more investment under this Progressive Conservative government in public education than any government in the history of Ontario.
“Right now, over 80 cents on the dollar is spent on compensation. We want to see more than 50 per cent of Grade 6 kids passing their math standards. When it comes to online learning, we believe one of the critical skill sets our young people need in the job market is greater influence on technological fluency. We're providing online learning for students in this province,” said Lecce.
Shakeel, however, said she believes that parents and students do not support mandatory e-learning and larger class sizes.
“That’s the thing, the lack of transparency is the most frustrating part in all of this,” said the Newmarket parent advocate. “The willingness to lie about things and make up numbers. The spin on things is unbelievable.
“Teachers and parents who are in the schools know what’s actually happening, we need more supports not fewer supports,” Shakeel said. “We know that most everything Lecce says isn’t true, especially when it comes to special education. The needs in the schools are so much greater than even what they’re providing for right now.”
Common Ground’s Jon Aston said the one thing that is for certain is that there’s a united front for local teachers and education workers.
“There’s a ton of support for teachers here in Newmarket and right across the province,” he said. “The turnout today is fantastic, and all of the teacher unions are working in solidarity. The horns are getting sounded constantly and I hope our MPP Christine Elliott can hear them.”
