(TORONTO) – July 20, 2020 – The Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF/FEESO) calls upon the Progressive Conservative government to hold public hearings into the sweeping changes proposed under Bill 197 – COVID-19 Economic Recovery Act.  The bill includes changes to the publicly-funded education system that, once again, will not face scrutiny or allow for any public input as the government seeks to pass this legislation as quickly as possible.

“I find this process to be deeply troubling and disingenuous. For a government that campaigned on seeking greater public consultation on publicly-funded education to ram through major changes without any significant input from parents, communities, and education stakeholders, is completely unacceptable,” said OSSTF/FEESO President Harvey Bischof.

“The government is fast-tracking many of these changes without public consultation, and implementing them at a time when parents, students, and educators are deeply concerned about dealing with the current pandemic and the uncertainty around plans for schools reopening in September.”

“As educators, we support changes that improve the education system for students.  However, for the Progressive Conservative government to fast-track these changes in less than two weeks, and not hold public committee hearings, suggests that they do not want to hear from education stakeholders.”

“We have sent a letter to the government requesting that proposed legislation related to education and occupational health and safety be pulled from the omnibus bill.  We ask that the government create stand-alone bills on these particular changes, and hold public and stakeholder consultations on these proposals.” 

“Public engagement and discourse is critical when it comes to changes to the education system.  It is important that the Progressive Conservative government allow for public input and scrutiny, rather than engaging in a process that is insular and shuts out public voice,” concluded Bischof.