In this year's fall economic statement, the Ontario government repeatedly stated its intention to protect the province's economy and people "for decades to come." Talk is cheap. The document didn't include any new and substantial investment, as discussed in the CCPA same-day analysis.
Notably, the provincial government once again actively neglected education, despite the various crises in the sector.
It's no secret that Ontario's colleges and universities are in trouble. After decades of relying on international student fees to balance their books, they have been hard hit by the federal caps on the number of international students they can admit each year. Instead of restoring public funding to where it once was, making post-secondary training affordable, the government of the day has opted to do nothing.
The cracks in the elementary and secondary education systems are also becoming wider. Since 2018, the province has shortchanged school boards by $6.3 billion in funding, forcing schools to constantly ration existing resources. Close to 40 per cent of all schools are in a state of disrepair. Special education continues to be woefully underfunded through a funding formula that ignores actual needs on the ground.
Sadly, that's not all. Another, less visible, and equally disconcerting crisis is brewing on the back burner.
The elementary and secondary teaching workforce is aging -- fairly quickly, and not because of general workforce trends. There is no research available to explain why this is happening, and, more importantly, no plan in place to avert a major and widespread teacher shortage.
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