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.”

As the provincial legislature returns, 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) have issued the following joint statement:

The Ford government introduced Bill 33, the Supporting Children and Students Act, earlier this year. It is a regressive piece of legislation that does nothing to support students and everything to consolidate power in the hands of the Minister of Education.  

Our schools are facing a crisis, but not the one this government is pretending to solve. Ontario’s public education system is buckling under the weight of underfunding. Class sizes are ballooning. Essential programs are being cut. Teachers and education workers are stretched to the breaking point. Student needs are going unmet, resulting in learning gaps and growing school violence. Put simply, there are not nearly enough trained professionals or services to properly support our students.  

A new province-wide poll commissioned by the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) shows that twice as many Ontarians want to keep elected school board trustees (49 per cent) as want to eliminate elected trustees (24 per cent). Support for elected trustees climbs to 59 per cent among parents with school-aged children. These results indicate strong public support for local democratic control of school boards.

The Ford government’s proposed Bill 33 would allow the province to replace elected school board trustees with government-appointed supervisors whenever it determines it is in the “public interest”. The Minister of Education has further threatened to get rid of elected school board trustees entirely, prior to scheduled elections on October 26, 2026.

“There is widespread concern about the erosion of local representation,” warns ETFO President David Mastin. “Eliminating elected trustees is not just a bureaucratic shift; it’s a direct attack on democratic governance. It centralizes power, undermines equity, silences marginalized voices, harms students, and strips communities of their right to shape public education. This is a dismantling of democracy in real time. Let’s mobilize and defend our schools and our students.”

TORONTO, ON – On October 5, World Teachers’ Day, the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) recognizes the expertise and extraordinary commitment of teachers in Ontario and around the world.

“Ontario’s teachers are at the heart of public education, bringing skill, compassion, and dedication to inspire learning and to help every student reach their potential,” says ETFO President David Mastin. “On World Teachers’ Day, we celebrate their impact and reaffirm our commitment to ensuring they have the resources and supports they need to help every student learn, grow, and succeed.”

TORONTO, ON – The following is a statement from the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) President David Mastin responding to a rumour that the Ford government is considering replacing Ontario’s 72 school boards with four:

“Collapsing Ontario’s 72 school boards into four isn’t just a bad idea, it’s reckless, undemocratic, and an outright attack on public education. This move would silence parents, erase community voices, eliminate democratically elected trustees, and cut families off from decision-makers. Ford is manufacturing yet another crisis in education to tighten his grip on our schools.

It is not hyperbole to say that this unprecedented power grab would decimate public education. It would destabilize schools across the province and put student learning, safety, and well-being at risk. Premier Ford and Education Minister Calandra aren’t reforming education; they are intent on dismantling a world-class public education system that educators have built and defended for generations.