The following is a statement from the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) President David Mastin in response to today’s announcement about classroom supplies:

“For years, educators have spent hundreds of dollars of their own money to ensure students have what they need. If the government is finally acknowledging this reality, it’s long overdue. But let’s be clear. Educators cannot be bought, and our commitment to strong public education is not something this government can purchase with a pre‑bargaining announcement.

The real issue that needs addressing is this government’s ongoing refusal to address the chronic underfunding that forces educators to subsidize classrooms out of their own pockets in the first place.

Toronto, March 11, 2026 – Groups representing all aspects of publicly funded education in Ontario are expressing concerns about recent comments from Education Minister Paul Calandra regarding the potential elimination of elected school board trustees – a system of governance that has been in place longer than Canada has been a country.

This change, if implemented, would remove one of the most important ways that families and communities have a say in how their schools are governed. It would also mean that important decisions about education could be made without appropriate public discussion, debate, and awareness.

TORONTO, ON – This morning, local presidents of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO), representing educators in school boards currently under Ontario Ministry of Education supervision, issued a joint letter to Education Minister Paul Calandra. The letter was also shared with ministry-appointed supervisors, directors of education at supervised boards, and the leadership of the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association and the Ontario Catholic School Trustees’ Association. It read as follows:

“As local presidents in supervised school boards, we are compelled to speak publicly about troubling decisions being made behind closed doors and the impact they are having on our public schools. 

Since the takeovers of our boards, we have witnessed a pattern of choices imposed without transparency, meaningful consultation, or any clear connection to students’ needs. Instead, these decisions appear to be driven almost exclusively by deep cost-cutting, with little regard for fixing the long-term funding formula consequences for learning and working conditions, or for the well-being of the communities our schools serve. In some cases, however, supervisors are not achieving savings at all, instead increasing costs through high salaries and discretionary funds. This is particularly concerning given the government’s public assertion that ministry-appointed supervisors would perform better than trustees. In reality, supervisors are encountering the same systemic challenges that locally elected trustees faced, demonstrating that the issues are structural, not the result of local governance.

Toronto, ON – L’Association des enseignantes et des enseignants franco-ontariens (AEFO), Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO), Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA), Ontario School Board Council of Unions (CUPE-OSBCU), and Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF/FEESO) have issued the following joint statement calling on the Ford government and Minister of Education Paul Calandra to start the bargaining process as soon as possible, to best support students, families, teachers, and education workers.

“Ontario’s students are our future. The bargaining process is an opportunity to work together, collaboratively and meaningfully, to secure that future – and to build on the success of our world-class publicly funded education system.

To ensure that our students have the resources and supports they need to thrive, Ontario’s teachers and education workers urge the government to come to the bargaining table as soon as possible.

Our thoughts are with the families, students, educators, and community members who are grieving the heartbreaking loss of life in British Columbia. Our hearts are with the Tumbler Ridge community.

During difficult times like this, it is important to look after ourselves and one another. Resources are available to members through employee assistance programs. Please reach out if you need support.

Our deepest condolences to all affected by this tragic act of violence.

The following is a statement from David Mastin, President of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO):

“ETFO is once again raising urgent concerns about the Ford government’s escalating and unjustified takeovers of democratically elected school boards across Ontario. These interventions represent egregious government overreach, a troubling centralization of power, and a direct threat to local democracy in Ontario’s public education system.

There is growing concern that these takeovers are part of a broader plan to seize control of school board finances and real estate across the province. This treats public education as a profit‑making enterprise rather than a vital public service meant to serve every child. Parents and communities must join us and act now to prevent lasting damage to our high-quality public education system.

The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) is urging the Ministry of Education to provide educators with high-quality, comprehensive, job-embedded professional learning and sufficient time before rolling out the newly revised Kindergarten curriculum in fall 2026. The new document contains several significant changes.

“Without meaningful training and dedicated implementation supports, educators will be left scrambling to learn the new curriculum, undermining student learning outcomes,” says ETFO President David Mastin. “ETFO members are well-equipped to deliver instruction and assess skills, but they need professional learning to guide their lesson planning and instructional practices. They deserve more than a webinar and set of slides, and they must not be expected to complete this training on their own time.” 

With the release of the Education Quality & Accountability Office (EQAO) results, the education minister is once again reinforcing reliance on standardized testing, continuing the Ford government’s pattern of disregarding the expertise of frontline educators who know what students truly need. The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) maintains its call to end this costly testing program and to redirect the millions spent on EQAO into classrooms by investing in smaller class sizes and supports that genuinely enhance student learning and well‑being.

“Educators are struggling with large class sizes, increasing workloads, and rising violence in schools, yet the Ford government remains incomprehensibly fixated on meaningless EQAO results,” said ETFO President David Mastin. “Moreover, Minister Calandra’s ‘deep dive’ delay raises serious questions. If EQAO is supposed to operate as an arms‑length, independent agency, why is the minister intervening in decisions around the release of its results?”

L’Association des enseignantes et des enseignants franco-ontariens (AEFO), Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO), Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA), Ontario School Board Council of Unions (CUPE-OSBCU), and Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF/FEESO) have issued the following joint statement on the expected passage of Bill 33, the Supporting Children and Students Act:

“Ontario’s schools are facing real crises: overcrowded classrooms, rising violence, crumbling infrastructure, and deep cuts to special education. Bill 33 serves to distract from every one of these problems and will likely only make them worse.

Once again, the conservative government will weaponize its majority, not to serve students, but to silence communities and erode public trust. Bill 33 is nothing more than a hostile takeover of publicly funded education governance and a strategic attack on democracy, dressed up as modernization and accountability.

Today’s fall economic statement is yet another failure by the Ford government. Behind the rhetoric, there are no meaningful new investments in public education. While educators struggle with large class sizes, increasing workloads, and rising violence in schools, the Ford government remains incomprehensibly focused on rewarding well-connected conservative party donors.

“Once again, student well-being and achievement are sacrificed to benefit Conservative insiders,” says ETFO President David Mastin. “The education funding formula, last fully reviewed over 20 years ago, has systematically failed elementary students and schools. For nearly three decades, special education, programs for English language learners, supports for student mental health, and school operations and maintenance have been chronically underfunded. This is deliberate neglect, mismanagement, and a direct attack on children’s right to a strong public education.”