Teachers’ unions, parents seek better relationship with new Education Minister

When it comes to Ontario’s often turbulent education file, teachers’ unions and parents alike are wondering if the new boss will be the same as the old boss.

They’re about to find out.

Newly appointed Education Minister Jill Dunlop is busy being briefed on her new role in preparation for the upcoming school year. She replaced Todd Smith, who bailed for the private sector after just 10 weeks in the position.

Before Smith, Stephen Lecce held the reigns for five contentious years, often butting heads with educators and parents on several key fronts, like collective bargaining, a changing curriculum, and the handling of the COVID-19 lockdown and remote learning.

That begs the question. Will Dunlop be any different?

The unions representing teachers hope that after her time as Minister of Colleges and Universities, she will be more open to listening and working together on some of the key issues facing Ontario schools.

Annie Kidder, the executive director of People for Education, thinks Dunlop has a chance for a fresh start but warns she’s wading into troubled waters. 

“I think that it’s an opportunity for a reset for the new minister,” Kidder told CityNews.

“Principals across the province have described the state of schools right now as a kind of perfect storm of stress.”

Karen Littlewood, President of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation, cites communication as a critical improvement area. 

“The last few years in education we found out everything by press conference, we haven’t had the heads up.

She adds that one of the key issues Dunlop should address is unqualified people in classrooms — a problem she says stretches from junior kindergarten all the way up to universities.

Dunlop released a statement saying she’s “excited” about working “with students, parents, educators, trustees and all our partners in our schools and early years communities.”

“Our emphasis on ensuring students get back to basics — learning the foundations of reading, writing and math while acquiring the critical skills they will need to lead to good-paying jobs is unwavering,” Dunlop wrote.

It sounds too familiar to some parents who clashed with Lecce over the years.

“It doesn’t really matter (who the minister is),” said Romana Siddiqui, a parent of a student in Peel Region.

“The policies are going to be reflective of the nature of the Conservative party, and what we’ve experienced is quite a bit of cutting back on publicly funded institutions and infrastructure.”