The education system is arguably the most important public system in Canada. It builds the future of our society and empowers the next generation of leaders and learners.
The Ontario provincial government’s decision to invoke the notwithstanding clause in Bill 28, the keeping students in class Act, to strongarm and silence educators, who are underpaid and under-resourced, signals a need to stand up for the education system and union workers.
Bill 28 forced the end of Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) strikes, notwithstanding employees’ rights outlined in sections 2, 7 and 15 of the Charter. While the province committed to repealing the Bill on the condition that the province and CUPE return to the bargaining table, the province’s decision to invoke the notwithstanding clause was unprecedented and shameful.
As bargaining has once again dissolved between CUPE and the Ford government, it is clear that the publicly funded education system and its needs will constantly be inconsequential compared to keeping the province’s budget in a surplus position.
Bill 28 circumvented the right of workers to free and fair collective bargaining—bargaining that ensued because underpaid education workers need a livable wage to survive.
Livable wages should never be politicized, no matter which political party one affiliates with. Regardless of political values, every worker has a right to a livable wage, and society owes it to communities to stand in solidarity with labour rights.
The decision to invoke the notwithstanding clause was a blatant attack on workers’ rights, and an attack on one group is an attack on all unionized workers. Many students at Carleton University are among the unionized workers in Ontario and are the backbone of the province’s economy, yet they are continuously treated unfairly by the government.
Claiming to support union workers, and by extension students, is not enough. Decisions made by the provincial government embody a failure of the province to understand the financial struggles of Ontarians during an era of high inflation.
Without unions, there is no way to stand up against infringements to workers’ rights. Without collective bargaining, there is no platform to stand up for fair compensation. While the province has agreed to step down from this imposition on unionized workers’ rights and freedoms, Ontarians must continue to protect education workers at all costs.
The provincial government’s decision to invoke the notwithstanding clause is a clear violation of the Charter, which sets a dangerous precedent for all unionized workers who already feel undervalued, under-resourced and unsupported by their province. While unions are one of the only vehicles that protect workers’ rights, the Charter exists to ensure there is an avenue for upholding them. To ignore the Charter is a blatant abuse of power.
Elected officials have a responsibility to listen to Ontarians and their needs, which can be achieved through processes such as collective bargaining. Labour workers should not be afraid to ask for fair wages, let alone be threatened with outrageous and unreasonable fines for doing so. As a community, we must stand in solidarity with unionized workers to ensure their voices are not lost or overpowered by bureaucratic ignorance towards unsuitable, unfair and unaffordable living conditions.
Without fair and livable wages, families are continuing to struggle. Rather than ignoring the root of the problem, the government needs to collaborate with unionized workers to better understand their needs. Governments and other institutions must do more as a society to combat these economic insecurities in the pursuit of fairness and equality for all workers.
Little is being done to address what we consider to be a rising and frightening crisis in this province. Officials who undermine and underfund Ontario’s public systems, such as the education system, will continue doing so until it is too late or they are stopped. Remember how this makes you feel, and do something to change it in future elections and during future demonstrations.
Photo by Myles Bodie/The Charlatan
