NDP, student trustees and advocacy groups speak out against Bill 33 ahead of final vote
CBC
Ontario’s New Democratic Party and advocates warned Tuesday that the province's new education bill would silence student voices, undermine trust and erode democracy.
Bill 33, The Supporting Children and Students Act, which is set to go to a final vote at Queen’s Park Wednesday, grants the education minister broad power to appoint a supervisor to take over school boards — a move that sidelines elected school board trustees.
If passed, the bill would also require the implementation of school resource officer programs (SRO) where offered by local police services.
The bill takes rights away from students, parents and community members, said NDP MPP Chandra Pasma (Ottawa West-Nepean).
“The minister’s appointees are Conservative insiders with no qualifications in education, who are acting without transparency and are showing absolutely zero accountability to anyone except the minister,” she said in a Zoom meeting Tuesday.
Pasma, who is also the Official Opposition critic for education, said students will pay the highest price if the bill is passed.
“Students like these are the future of our province. It's the government's responsibility to fight for them, to protect them and to support them,” she said. “[The government is] essentially replacing local democracy with secrecy and partisan political control.”
Minister of Education Paul Calandra introduced the bill after what he called financial mismanagement at school boards. He said financial investigations into the boards showed growing deficits and depletion of reserves.
Official Opposition Leader Marit Stiles said it's clear the government is rushing the bill through.
"The government has changed all the rules to make sure that there are very few tools that we have to be able to slow this down," she said Tuesday. "There has been very little debate and there have been no committee hearings."
"This is not the first time this government has barreled through with some kind of legislation that nobody asked for and nobody wanted," she said.
The province currently has control of five school boards, including the Toronto District School Board and the Toronto Catholic District School Board.
Ahnaaf Hassan, a student trustee for the TDSB, joined Pasma in her criticism of the government’s plans Tuesday. Students across the province have different needs, which one set supervisor would not be able to address properly, he said.
“If Bill 33 passes, we are all at risk of losing a local voice, a voice silenced under the guise of financial mismanagement. Children would not receive the specific aids they need in their education,” he said.
Hundreds of P.E.I. parents can't find child-care spaces, especially for infants. The provincial government says expanding those spots remains a top priority — and it recognizes the concern.
An Alberta judge says a referendum proposal on Alberta separating from Canada goes against Charter and and Treaty rights, in a decision given less than 24 hours after the provincial government introduced legislation that would have ended the court proceeding.
The architect of Alberta's politician recall legislation says it was never meant to be used as a political weapon, but as an "ultimate tool of accountability" if a politician engages in illegal or unethical behaviour.
The Government of Saskatchewan has introduced its long-promised involuntary treatment legislation on the final day of the fall sitting.
The Law Society of Ontario has suspended the licence of Deepak Paradkar, one of seven Canadians arrested in connection with alleged drug lord Ryan Wedding’s cocaine smuggling ring.
London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) is getting rid of unlimited mental health benefits for staff, blaming ballooning costs and former administrators for implementing it without proper due diligence or oversight.
Netflix has agreed to buy Warner Bros. Discovery's TV and film studios and streaming division for $72 billion US, a deal that would hand control of one of Hollywood's most prized and oldest assets to the streaming pioneer that has upended the media industry.
CBC Calgary kicks off its annual Make the Season Kind campaign this morning at Fratello Coffee Roasters.
CBC Newfoundland and Labrador is kicking off its annual holiday campaign, helping to raise money to support local food banks.
If all goes according to plan, at 6 a.m. AT on Saturday people working at the IWK Health Centre will become the test case for a generational change to Nova Scotia’s health-care system.
One month after Prime Minister Mark Carney announced what he called "generational" military spending, New Brunswick’s defence ecosystem is on high alert.
Miranda Mirlycourtois, 34, looks directly at the camera and makes a confession.
Saskatoon city hall says police spending is projected to be $2.6 million over budget this year. That pushes the city into a $1.2-million deficit position, according to a report that will be considered by city council next week.