TORONTO, ON – April 29, 2022 —
In response to the 2022 Provincial budget announcement, the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF/FEESO) is calling attention to the Ford government’s continued underfunding of public education.
OSSTF/FEESO President Karen Littlewood said, “The Ford government’s long overdue budget announcement does not include anything new and certainly doesn’t have any historic investments in education. Instead, it deceptively puts back some of Ford’s previous cuts to education, moves federal money for child care into education, and fails to keep up with inflation. Critical investments in our schools and our students are needed and they are needed now.”
Recently, the Ford government claimed that they are making historic investments in education, yet the numbers show the opposite, that they continue to shortchange students, educators, and their families by underspending in education and the post-secondary sector. In total, they have underspent in both sectors by $2.5 billion over the past year.
“I think it’s clear that the Ford government is putting politics ahead of the province, and certainly ahead of student needs. They won’t even commit to their own budget past the election, clearly using gimmicks as a ploy to garner votes in June,” added President Littlewood.
Instead of supporting students and their families, the government has chosen to spend money on developers through unnecessary boondoggles like the Highway 413 project. The government should be using infrastructure money to address the school repair backlog that totals nearly $17 billion. Not only would investments in school repair help students succeed, but it would create jobs and set Ontario up for future success. For every dollar that Ontario invests in education, we get a return of a $1.30.
“Students in Ontario deserve better than the planned $12.3 billion cuts from education over the next nine years and increasing threats of privatization. We need a new government that will lead the province to a full and equitable recovery from COVID-19 and make the needed investments to benefit students now and to set them up for future success.”
OSSTF/FEESO, founded in 1919, has over 60,000 members across Ontario. They include public high school teachers, occasional teachers, educational assistants, continuing education teachers and instructors, early childhood educators, psychologists, secretaries, speech-language pathologists, social workers, plant support personnel, university support staff, and many others in education.