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On October 16, there were 11 of us to walk up to Ontario Premier Doug Ford's constituency office in Etobicoke. Since his arrival to power 17 months ago, two workers have lost their lives in the same commercial bakery located a mere six minute drive from Ford's office.
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The proposed market-based performance funding model will tie 60 per cent (over $3 billion dollars) of postsecondary funding to each institution’s 'performance' against a set of arbitrary and flawed metrics. This dramatic shift follows years of stagnant public funding for postsecondary education in Ontario, and is only the latest in a series of attacks on the foundations of postsecondary education in the province, including cuts of over $400 million to college and university budgets, cuts of almost $700 million to student financial assistance, and cuts to the democratically determined student fees that allow students’ unions to advocate on behalf of, and provide vital support to their members.
Toronto, Sep. 4, 2019 – Ontario faculty are warning that the Ford government’s so called 'performance' funding model for postsecondary education is reckless, ineffective, and dangerous. The new funding model will link 60 per cent of government funding for universities ($2.2 billion dollars) to an arbitrary set of metrics chosen with no consultation. These metrics will not actually measure “performance” but are likely to be used as an excuse to cut university budgets. Across Ontario, OCUFA estimates that this new funding model could mean cuts of over $500 million dollars that will substantially undermine our postsecondary institutions’ academic missions and mandates.
A version of this article was presented to the Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario 2018 general meeting. The domination of the neoliberal view for the previous nearly four decades has meant that all public spending has to be couched as supporting the private economy. Even for something as basic as higher education cannot be described as having an inherent value, it must be commodified and linked to some private sector profit. In the case of university, public funding is only available because it is part of the private sectors desire to have skilled workers. As such, a post-secondary education degree is only talked about as a pathway to a job, and not as a valuable process by itself.
The newly elected United Conservative Party under Jason Kenney announced in the speech from the throne that their main priority is to drive wages down for workers, remove protections for workers at work, defund their political opposition, and undermine future generations in Alberta and around the world. Bill 1 is to attack the environment – kicking them while they are down. Bill 2 is going to attack workers, their unions, wages, youth, and health & safety for employees.
It was just a question of time before the Ford government went after libraries. Of all the things that are going on in Ontario, it is so sad that we have to take up the fight to defend local library services.
Today is May Day, International Workers' Day. With roots in the workers' struggle for an 8-hour work day, this day has been marked for more than a century in countries across the world. May Day is a great day for socialists, labour organizers and agitators to draw connections between the workers' struggle under capitalism and the gains we have made in history. May Day is marked around the world with cultural celebrations and also protests where workers' rights are under attack.
The Ford Government's cuts to the university sector puts additional strain on an already stressed funding system. The new budget drives an aggressive free-market agenda obsessed with short-term results that does not work in a university setting and will undermine teaching, learning, and research in Ontario. The announced direction for Strategic Mandate Agreement's (SMAs) will drive universities to align their teaching and research priorities with short-term labour market demands. This will undermine of the long-term research and teaching objectives at the heart of quality academic education and research. In short, the budget is a disaster for the academy and will bring hardship to the workers, students, and faculty on our campuses.
'Mr Zelensky, who largely avoided in-depth interviews and press conferences during the campaign, has provided limited details about his reform plans but has pledged to keep Kiev on an EU integration path.'
