Ontario NDP blast Ford government for ramming through harmful Bill 33

QUEEN’S PARK – Ontario NDP Shadow Minister for Education Chandra Pasma (Ottawa West–Nepean) and Shadow Minister for Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security Peggy Sattler (London West) say the government’s passage of Bill 33 is an unprecedented attack on Ontario’s schools, colleges, and universities.

Pasma said the government pushed Bill 33 through despite overwhelming opposition.

“Yesterday I asked the Minister of Education why he would not listen to students who said they did not want Bill 33 to pass,” said Pasma. “Student trustees were clear that they did not want government appointees who ignore them. Parents told us they did not want decisions made behind closed doors or Conservative insiders paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to override them. Education workers told us this bill was not the solution to crowded classrooms and unsafe schools. The government ignored all of them.”

Sattler said the government passed Bill 33 knowing it will worsen an already severe crisis on campuses.

“In Question Period I asked the Minister why he was ignoring what postsecondary students were telling us so clearly,” said Sattler. “Student organizations like CFS-Ontario, OUSA, CSA and OSV warned that this bill would mean the loss of vital campus programs students urgently need, including food banks, mental health peer supports and accessibility services. They told the government that our postsecondary sector is in crisis. Hundreds of programs have been cut, campuses are closing, almost ten thousand jobs have been lost at Ontario colleges, and eighty thousand students will be shut out of university seats because of government underfunding. The Premier chose not to listen.”

The Ontario NDP condemn the government’s decision to force Bill 33 into law. This harmful legislation is an attack on schools and does absolutely nothing to address the crisis in public education. New Democrats are not backing down. The next battle is Doug Ford’s attack on renters, Bill 60, and we are determined to stop it before it becomes law.