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Banting Students in Solidarity Against Bill 115!
Blog posts reflect the views of their authors.
Students and public sector employees all over the province have been demonstrating their discontent with Bill 115, which funny enough has been called the "Putting Students First Act". Bill 115 is being passed by the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in order to limit cost increases in the Ontario education system and to allow the conservative and liberal agendas to continue without disruption by the labour movement. The bill takes away unions' right to collective bargaining as well as the right to strike, and allows the government to impose its own rules on Ontario's school boards. In addition, the bill implements wage freezes and 60% of teachers will have their wages cut while only 40% will receive their scheduled pay increase over the next few years. Teachers will also receive a 1.5% wage cut through scheduled PD days, and will be limited to 10 sick days throughout the school year. Over 55,000 members of The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) will be affected, not only teachers but school support staff such as custodians, educational assistants, librarians, and early childhood educators to name a few.
It is quite clear that bill 115 will have a severe impact on unionized workers in the education system, but what many fail to acknowledge is that the bill will also have a negative impact on students...thankfully, the students have taken this situation into their own hands, and are determined to show the government as well as the public that they will not stand for the injustice being thrown at their teachers, or their fellow students for that matter. Sir Frederick Banting Secondary School was one of the many high schools in London that organized a walk out on Monday morning followed by a protest to peacefully express their dissent.
How does bill 115 affect students? While attending the Banting walk out, we were able to chat with a few students to hear from their perspective, why this bill is not a good step for Ontario. One of the main reasons, and it is an important one, is that many extra-curricular activities such as sports, dramatic arts, music, as well as academic tutoring will be strictly limited or lost completely by putting teachers in such a vulnerable position. It is painfully obvious why this is a problem. As one Banting student, Dylan explained, due to the monotony of the education system, extra-curricular activities are the only reason many students go to school in the first place. This is where most of them find inspiration and purpose in an institution they are forced to attend during a time where they are expected to find exactly what they want to devote their lives to when they become adults. No wonder students are concerned! If the only aspects of high school that are keeping you there are taken away, what reasons do you have to stay in school? Not only are their current student experiences that shape them at risk, but their futures are at risk. How on Earth can this possibly be called the "putting students first act"?
I want to make it very clear that this is not the only reason for the walk out. Students are concerned about their high school experiences, yes, but even more so about showing support for their teachers and support staff. The main organizers of the walk out, Dallas and Jaime, expressed that they absolutely did not walk out of class to disrespect their teachers, but to support their teachers in their struggle...as for how the teachers and school administration felt about this, they were unable to encourage nor discourage the action, but students have hinted that the teachers appreciate the support. "We love our teachers just as much as they love us", explained Jesse, another Banting student passionate about the walk out, "the teachers aren't allowed to fight back, so we'll do it for them". Another student by the name of David summed it up nicely, "we're the only bargaining tool they have left".
A few hundred students were in attendance today peacefully speaking out against bill 115, holding signs that read "kill bill 115" and cheering enthusiastically in the streets as cars drove by honking their horns, clearly in support of the demonstration and the unions affected. Miranda and Jessie, who were also in attendance, in my opinion gave the most important reminder of all: we need to show the government that they are being watched. People are paying attention to their actions and will continue to do so in addition to expressing our disapproval...they may feel as though they can sacrifice average citizens to push forward their own agenda, but we will never stand for it.
This whole action was quite eye opening in the sense that it gave us a whole new sense of hope in today's youth. The world is becoming increasingly more unfair and chaotic, and sometimes even as activists we lose hope in the future. We were extremely impressed by the awareness, passion, and solidarity with this group of students and hope that they continue to do this amazing work. They are the future, after all.
Peace, love and solidarity!
~Bailey
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