June 6 2025
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is expressing concern about Ontario’s Bill 33, Supporting Children and Students Act. The bill, introduced last week, would impose sweeping changes to the education sector that would undermine our public institutions and efforts to promote equity.
The Ontario Public Service Employees Union/Syndicat des employés de la fonction publique de l’Ontario (OPSEU/SEFPO), a Component of NUPGE, has condemned the bill for its attacks on public education, vulnerable populations, and the local democracy of school boards.
“Bill 33 is a power grab, and a dangerous one,” said OPSEU/SEFPO President JP Hornick. “This government is using isolated examples of financial mismanagement to justify sweeping changes to multiple levels of our public education system, instead of addressing the real issue—underfunding.”
If passed, the bill would require colleges and universities to adopt rigid admission policies to accept students based on “merit”—as defined by Cabinet—and ignore other factors. This will impact the quality of education for all and pushes Ontario’s education towards a “pay to play” system. This appears to be a Trump-like attack on equity, diversity, and inclusion policies. As well as the risk of political interference in college and university admissions, this would undo years of efforts to address historical barriers to improve access to colleges and universities.
“Ontario’s future depends on an inclusive education system, not one that intentionally keeps people out,” said Hornick.
The bill would also add increased ministerial oversight over ancillary fees that fund student-led services such as food banks, mental health support, and student career services, which could undermine these important services.
The Ontario government needs to address the decades of underfunding of public post-secondary education (PSE), as OPSEU/SEFPO has called for. The need for increased funding for public PSE is a problem across the country, especially in Ontario.
The federal government also needs to take a leadership role in funding public education. NUPGE has called on the government to develop a dedicated funding transfer for PSE, backed by federal legislation that would ensure public funding supports a PSE system that is public, accessible and affordable to all, inclusive, and high quality.