Opposition to Anti-Social Offensive
Continues in
Ontario
Mass Actions
Militantly Reject Ford
Government's Attacks on
Education
Queen's Park rally April 6, 2019 says No!
to Ford government's cuts to education.
Two mass actions were recently held in Ontario
by
those concerned about the direction of public education. On April 6, a
mass rally of teachers and education workers and their supporters was
held at Queen's Park to defend the public education system. This was
preceded by a province-wide walkout on April 4 organized by students to
clearly express their No! to the Ford government's
retrogressive changes to K-12 and post-secondary education.
Rally for Education at Queen's Park
 On April 6, more than
34,000 teachers and education
workers,
students, parents, children and the general public converged on
Queen's Park for a rally to express a clear No! to the
Ford government's anti-social attacks on education. From as far
north as North Bay and as far south as Windsor, buses poured into
Toronto while Torontonians and those in the GTA drove in or
flooded into public transit. Everywhere red shirts symbolizing
the slogan #RedforED could be seen. Like the province-wide
walkouts, the rally had a jubilant fighting spirit making it
clear that the people were speaking for themselves and putting to
rest any claim that the direction proposed by the Ford government
has any form of broad support. Organizers report that this was
the most buses they had seen at Queen's Park in many years.
The rally opened with representatives of high school
students
who organized the walkouts who rebuked Premier Ford's provocative
claim that the walkouts were organized by teachers' unions, whom
he called "thugs." The students openly declared not only that it
was their initiative but that they are not asking but demanding a
real say in the direction of the education system that educates
them and that they support the same for all those who work in
public education. Representatives of families with children who
have autism also spoke of their confidence in the movement that
was being built and that they stand as one with everyone who
wants to improve public education. Representatives of the main
Ontario education unions also spoke affirming that their members'
working conditions are students' learning conditions and that
this is the basis upon which they support the students. The
entire caucus of the NDP joined the rally with NDP leader Andrea
Horwath stating that they would fight up until the next
provincial election when she said they would defeat the PCs and
form the government. Chris Buckley of the Ontario Federation of
Labour addressed participants as did Canadian Labour Congress
President Hassan Yussuff. Both rebuked the Ford government for
its attacks on unions labeling them "thugs," affirming that the
trade union movement would not be threatened or intimidated.
The stands of the people of Ontario affirming education
as a
right and the modern view that education is an investment rather
than a cost were clearly expressed in the thousands of homemade
signs in the rally. What has clearly been established in the
minds of those gathered was that the direction the Ford
government intends to take Ontario is not acceptable and must be
challenged. The rally and the walkouts have further strengthened
the sentiment that it is up to the working people themselves to
hold governments to account and how to do this begins by saying
No!
Province-Wide Student Walkout
Students from all parts of the province walked out en
masse on April 4 in an enthusiastic expression of their
determination to
have their voices heard.
Many school boards across the province
deliberately did not intimidate or seek to threaten students into
not participating. In some cases school board administrations
facilitated students expressing themselves by establishing time
frames for the walkout within which students would not be marked
truant. As a result, students were not forced to defy
administrators and instead were able to walk out together in a
calm and jubilant atmosphere.
Photo Review: April 6 Rally for Education
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
Photo Review: April 4 Student Walkout
Napanee
Ottawa
Wellborne Ave Public School, Kingston
VP Carswell Elementary, Trenton
Bowmanville
Whitby
Codrington Public School, Barrie
Innisdale Secondary School, Barrie
Harbord Collegiate, Toronto
Spadina-Fort York, Toronto
Lakeshore Collegiate, Etobicoke
Richview Collegiate, Etobicoke
 
Etobicoke
Port Credit Secondary School, Mississauga
Fort Erie
Vincent Massey Secondary School, Windsor
Essex District High School
Sudbury
Mattawa
Blind River
Elliot Lake
  
Sault Ste. Marie
Thunder Bay
This article was published in
Volume 49 Number
13 - April 13, 2019
Article Link:
Mass
Actions
Militantly
Reject
Ford Government's Attacks on Education
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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