BLOG 7 - My Response to Bill 101: Putting Student Achievement First (20 April 2026)

In the mid-1990s, the Conservative government under Mike Harris fundamentally restructured Ontario school boards by amalgamating them (from 129 to 72), reducing the numbers of trustees and significantly limiting their influence by stripping them of many of their powers and responsibilities.

Today, with the introduction of Bill 1010, the Doug Ford Conservative government is finishing the work, started 30 years ago, of destroying the foundation of our education system in Ontario, democratically elected school boards. This legislation falsely claims that the problem of our education system lies with elected school boards, and in so doing has deflected attention away from the chronic underfunding of public education in Ontario since this government came to power.

Minister Calandra did not want to open up himself to any constitutional challenges, so he has chosen to attack and blame school board trustees and significantly reduce their roles. The legislation is spiteful in further eliminating trustee powers and responsibilities, reducing the already pitiful honorarium that trustees receive, and making them pay for membership fees for their professional association out-of-pocket.

With this announcement, who would run to become a trustee when trustees are so maligned by this government, emasculated to the extent that they have been left with no significant powers or responsibilities, and will receive a pittance of an honorarium and have new, additional out-of-pocket expenses? Most certainly, this new system will not motivate a wide range of diverse, committed, skilled and knowledgeable candidates to run to serve their communities and become school board trustees.

Furthermore, this legislation will not lead to any savings given the fact that boards will now have two individuals (a CEO and a Chief Education Officer), rather than one director of education, which will be a substantial new financial burden on boards of education, now having two highly paid, senior leaders at the helm.

Bill 1010 does nothing to address the chronic underfunding of public education in our province that has negatively impacted our students, especially those with special needs, their teachers and educational assistants. It is mean-spirited, spiteful and in essence completes the work of the Mike Harris' government Common Sense Revolution. What we have left are school boards where elected trustees have no meaningful powers or responsibilities and are paid a pittance to represent their constituents.

Thirty years ago, the Conservative provincial government in Ontario passed the "Education Quality Improvement Act" (Bill 160), and now the Conservative provincial government is about to pass the "Putting Student Achievement First Act" (Bill 101). Bill 160 did not improve the quality of our education system and Bill 101 is not about prioritizing student achievement. Together, these book end Education Acts are about destroying our public education system to pave the way for the privatization of it.