A so-called conservative government like that of Premier Doug Ford should not hesitate to follow the lead of other provinces in permitting charter schools. Pictured: Premier Doug Ford. Photo Credit: Doug Ford/X.
Talk is cheap. The Ontario Progressive Conservative government has talked a good game for years about getting the “woke” agenda out of our public school system, or at least toning it down considerably. However, their actions have belied their words, as teachers’ unions, school boards and others largely continue to promote social justice topics, gender identity and critical race theory, taking time and resources away from a focus on literacy, numeracy, critical thinking, STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects and problem solving.
The latest foolishness is the announcement of a Chief Equity Officer in the Ministry of Education, at a salary range of $165,000 to $225,000. The appointee, Giselle Basanta, will also be Assistant Deputy Minister, Education Equity. The position’s responsibilities include such things as data collection for students and staff. This is undoubtedly to classify people by skin colour, gender and sexual orientation among other identity groups, which has proven to be divisive and counter-productive. The position will also promote diversity in hiring and teacher training, which is code for choosing people to fill positions based on criteria other than merit.
The Equity Officer will also have input into the curriculum, which has already been poisoned by teachers’ unions and others with subject matter that has nothing to do with adequately preparing youth for future success. This position will also promote the concepts of DEI – diversity, equity and inclusion – which put far more focus on skin colour, gender, sexual orientation and other superficial characteristics than competence. And never forget that every new position like this which is created will require its own expensive and bloated bureaucracy. Do people really wonder why government at all levels is expanding at the expense of the productive private sector, and why we end up having serious productivity problems in Canada? When we see students’ achievement on topics such as math and literacy decline year by year, while taxpayer costs increase, it’s no mystery that we need a big change in public education.
To their credit, the Ford government has increased a focus on developing skills in the trades, a very positive development. Unfortunately, even this welcome change involves far too much input from the unions, whose main objectives are to limit the number of apprentices and inculcate young trainees into being future dues-paying union members. Also on the plus side, former education minister Stephen Lecce has re-introduced welcome classes on cursive writing and has added financial literacy as an important subject, which is long overdue. A recent Cabinet shuffle in June moved Lecce into the energy portfolio, while shifting former energy minister Todd Smith into education. The fact that this announcement of the new Equity Officer was the first major announcement of Smith is not promising for education in Ontario.
When first running for office, the Ford government stated they would abolish the unnecessary and union-dominated Ontario College of Trades. Instead, they merely morphed it into Skilled Trades Ontario, yet another superfluous and costly government agency greatly influenced by unions. Prior to their initial election in 2018, the Ford Progressive Conservatives also promised to establish a Parents’ Bill of Rights to ensure parents had enforceable rights over their own children’s education. That Bill of Rights has yet to appear. The Ontario government’s timid stance on a number of education-related issue appears to be a reflection of their fear of opposing public sector unions, which is a betrayal of the vast majority of Ontarians who don’t belong to a union but pay excessive amounts of taxes to support the generous compensation of teachers and other government workers. It’s high time governments got more courageous.
Much has been said of late about disaffected youth, about how Generation Z (young people now in their teens and twenties) has a very pessimistic outlook for their future, do not expect to be able to enjoy the same standard of living as their parents, find the cost of living unmanageable and don’t anticipate ever being able to own a home. Some of this must be attributed to the reality that these generations were raised in leftist public schools, where achievement is frowned upon and everyone gets a medal whether earned or not.
No student ever fails a grade in our current times, but is pushed ahead to the next grade even if they have not achieved the skills to do so. This not only downplays the importance of work and achievement, but continues to process increasingly unprepared students through the system such that they “graduate” lacking many basic skills. For some time, colleges and universities have bemoaned the fact that they must offer remedial courses in such fundamentals as literacy and numeracy because primary and secondary schools are not doing their job. This is an unacceptable situation that not only wastes massive amounts of tax dollars, but is a major disservice to our younger generation.
Despite politicians constant harping on how they are focussed on helping the “middle class,” technology and some economic trends have hollowed out much of the middle class, as employment opportunities are most concentrated in lower skilled service sector jobs and high-end technology positions. It is forecast that the advent of AI (Artificial Intelligence) will threaten many well-paid white-collar jobs, making matters even worse. This would seem a perfect time for our public education system, with its many well-compensated teachers and other employees, to focus on these trends to best prepare students for a successful future. But no, virtue-signalling and social justice issues unfortunately continue to be the centre of attention in our public school system.
It will be incredibly difficult to dislodge the influence of the unions in our public education system, despite their negative impact on students and the quality of the system overall. The most sensible solution to improve education is to bring in charter schools. Charter schools have been proven to be successful in other Canadian provinces, as they offer a higher quality, specialized education pathway and provide competition to the mediocre public system. They also permit taxpaying parents to direct their tax dollars to the school of their choice and not be forced to fund our failing public schools. A so-called conservative government like that of Premier Doug Ford should not hesitate to follow the lead of other provinces in permitting charter schools. Considering the dismal state of our public education system, it should be a no-brainer.
She has published numerous articles in journals, magazines & other media on issues such as free trade, finance, entrepreneurship & women business owners. Ms. Swift is a past President of the Empire Club of Canada, a former Director of the CD Howe Institute, the Canadian Youth Business Foundation, SOS Children’s Villages, past President of the International Small Business Congress and current Director of the Fraser Institute. She was cited in 2003 & 2012 as one of the most powerful women in Canada by the Women’s Executive Network & is a recipient of the Queen’s Silver & Gold Jubilee medals.
