Throughout Canada, many provinces are rewriting the rules of education to truly empower parents. In Quebec, elected school councils give parents a powerful voice in decision-making, and in Alberta, parents enjoy direct access to the Education Minister—clear examples of democratized education. Yet Ontario has taken a starkly different approach.

Since 1998, Ontario has systematically stripped school boards of their influence, gradually eroding parental power. The most recent shock to this system, Bill 98, has further centralized control in the hands of the Minister of Education, leaving Boards and parents sidelined in a system governed by bureaucratic mandates rather than community voices.

This centralized model severely restricts your ability to reach the heart of key issues:

• CURRICULUM: Instead of fostering unity, the curriculum has evolved into a divisive tool that alienates teacher, board, and parent alike—a battleground for political ideology rather than an instrument of learning.
• CLASSROOM: The decay in classroom conditions and the crumbling infrastructure diminish the quality of education, leaving little room for locally responsive, child-centered learning environments.
• CREED: Efforts to accommodate religious freedoms have been reduced to hollow gestures, ignoring the culturally rich tapestry of communities that deserve genuine respect and representation.
• CURBING: When minor disruptions spiral into rampant, uncontrolled violence against students and staff, it’s a clear signal that systemic issues go unaddressed, placing lives at risk in an increasingly unsafe educational environment.
• CENSORSHIP: The suppression of dissenting opinions stifles healthy debate, curtailing the essential free speech that should be the cornerstone of any democratic society.

This is not just a policy discussion—it’s a call to reclaim the right to advocate for the future of our children. The time for reform is now; our education system must place community and parental engagement at the forefront, or we risk being complicit in perpetuating a governance model that silences the very voices that should be shaping our collective future.

There are a staggering 700 trustees—decision makers at the very front lines—entrusted with the management of billions of dollars and the fate of literally millions of children. Over the years, these boards have alienated themselves from the very communities they’re supposed to serve, and the fallout is nothing short of a disaster:

• Poor accountability: Resulting in a system where answers are as elusive as shadows.
• Weak governance: A hollow shell of what effective oversight should be.
• Code of Conduct offensives: Guidelines turned into weapons that stifle genuine progress.
• No taxing powers: Leaving these boards without the essential financial muscle needed for real change.
• Abysmally low voter turnouts: Trustees elected in a process that cries out for civic engagement, but instead echoes with apathy.
• Political stepping stones: School boards increasingly serve as mere launchpads for ambitious careers, leaving behind a trail of mismanagement and disarray.

This isn’t just mismanagement—it’s a systemic unraveling that imperils our educational future. With every operational decision made in isolation from the communities they affect, these trustees are paving the way for an educational catastrophe that could resonate for generations.