Passage of Bill 197 raises alarms; what is Bill 197?

BY PAUL JUNOR

“This government is instead choosing to rush through legislation that undermines public education and threatens further privatization.” Sam Hammond

The forced passage of Bill 197 through the Ontario legislature on Tuesday, July 21^st, 2020, after being introduced on July 8^th, 2020, has triggered widespread disapproval.

Bill 197 changes regulations with respect to: environmental protections, the Occupational Health and Safety act, the scope of the Ontario Educational Communication Authority and certain aspects of the Education Act.

The government was determined to force Bill 197 through the Legislature before its emergency powers expired, and the summer session started. It quickly bypassed the democratic process of consultations.

In a statement issued by the NDP Official Opposition House Leader Gilles Bisson (Timmins) on Tuesday, July 21^st, 2020, “Doug Ford has abruptly shut down the Ontario legislature for the summer after ramming through legislation that will do nothing to help Ontarians dealing with the on-going COVID-19 health and economic crisis people are still dealing with. His sweeping legislation, Bill 197, rolls back environmental legislation, lines the pockets of big developers and even allows boards to appoint directors of education with no teaching qualifications.” Two teachers’ unions have echoed his concerns.

The Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation (OSSTF) issued a statement on Monday, July 20^th, 2020. The memo indicated that it wrote a letter to the government, in which it asked that proposed legislation and occupational health and safety be removed from the bill. The memo states, “We asked that the government create stand-alone on these particular changes and hold public and stakeholders’ consultations on these proposals.”

OSSTF expressed concerns about four specific aspects of Bill 197:

• TVO/TFO changes on delivery of on-line courses.
• Power to amend the Occupational Health and Safety Act
• Remove teaching qualifications for Directors of Education
• Changes to suspensions of elementary students

OSSTF is deeply troubled by what it sees as the undermining of public education by the potential privatization of the Ontario Education Communications Authority, and changes to the Education Act.

In addition, the Elementary Teacher Federation of Ontario (ETFO) has also expressed alarm. In a press release on Tuesday, July 21^st, 2020 titled, “Government rushing public education changes without consultation” ETFO states that, “It is concerned that the changes included in Bill 197 are being rushed through the legislature this week with no adequate debate, no legislature committee study, and no consultation with education stakeholders.” This is troubling according to president of ETFO’s president Sam Hammond, “At a time when the focus should be providing adequate funding and resources to ensure a safe reopening of schools this government is instead choosing to rush through legislation that undermines public education and threatens further privatization.”

Karen Campbell, Vice-President of ETFO in an interview with Toronto Caribbean Newspaper on Monday, July 27^th, 2020 reiterated that the union will ensure that parents, communities, trustees are fully informed, and become aware of the government push to have fiscal managers focusing on the bottom-line and not the deal.

SURJ Toronto on Monday, July 20^th, 2020 in conjunction with LAEN (Latin Afro-Latina-America and Abya-Yala Education) issued a call to action with respect to the removal of the requirement for Directors of Education to be qualified teachers. They are concerned that this removal could

Lead to the migration of businesspeople from the private sector into public     education, and the consequent treatment of education like a business.

Not guarantee more diverse hiring

Encourage boards to hire fiscal managers to be Directors of Education

Perpetuate a lack of understanding around the anti-racist considerations necessary to align resources and supports across the education system to support marginalized school and student populations