Provincial Politics

With the school year ramping up and educators settling into your classrooms, I want to start by saying a big thank you.

We know that women, particularly those that are racialized and dealing with precarity in its different forms, bore the brunt of this pandemic.

The summer issue of Voice is always our women’s issue. It is an opportunity to highlight women’s voices, consider the intersections of our struggles and to talk about the value and impact of ETFO’s women’s programs.

There is no doubt that education workers have struggled as a result of the systemic underfunding of public education. Ontario’s failed response to the COVID-19 pandemic turned difficult classroom realities, such as large class sizes, insufficient supports for students, and poor air quality and ventilation, into a dangerous crisis.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated concerns about large class sizes, the physical condition of schools and the government’s failure to provide appropriate funding to meet the needs of all students, particularly students with special education needs and those from marginalized communities.

Heather Aggus looks at ETFO’s recent history of challenging and pushing back against successive governments in Ontario.

Munib Sajjad considers the impact that organizing will have on the future of public education.

Chris Fuerth details how the Ford government has sacrificed our working conditions, our students’ learning conditions and the safety of both educators and students.

James Taylor emphasizes the need to organize for the next provincial election.