The Ford Government’s suggestion of a hiring freeze for Ontario school boards will hurt Francophones the most.
That’s according to Mushkegowuk-James Bay MPP Guy Bourgouin, who makes the claim that a hiring freeze would be disastrous for French language education across the province.
Bourgouin says teachers are being asked to do more with less, and questioned whether the intention is destroy our world-class education system and jeopardize the future of our kids.
Education Minister Lisa Thompson says she wants parents to know it is their number one priority to ensure students have access to a meaningful education, but in order to achieve this she says their spending and investments must be given a hard look.
Bourgouin says francophone school boards will be affected the most considering these boards have continued growing for 20 years, and there are now more students and a shortage of qualified teachers.
He says the move would be catastrophic for the province, but still doesn’t surprise him considering this government has consistently shown a lack of interest in Francophones.
Thompson says the hiring freeze will see some educational positions going unfilled during the upcoming school year, and fewer resources for educators.
Bourgouin meanwhile sees this as a demotion of Franco-Ontarians into second class citizens of the province.
