Abstract
This paper will critically analyze the degree to which the Ontario government, led by then Premier Mike Harris, embarked on a neoliberal agenda that led to a crisis in Ontario’s educational system. The period from 1995-2000 was one of the most contentious in Ontario’s educational history, and two pieces of legislation, The College of Teachers Act (Bill 31) and the Education Quality Improvement Act (Bill 160), pitted teacher unions, in particular, the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) and the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA), against the Harris government. Bill 160 led to a ten-day protest by teachers across Ontario, which signaled a dramatic shift in teacher and state relations that marked a crisis period in Ontario’s educational sector.
Highlights
On 27 October 1997, close to 126,000 Ontario teachers took to the streets to demonstrate their frustration with the proposed Education Quality Improvement Act (Bill 160)
While the majority of this paper is focused on the Harris government, it should be noted that a number of initiatives, especially in education, introduced by Premier Bob Rae and his New Democratic Party (NDP) government exhibited neoliberal characteristics
These, neoliberal policies included Bill 31 and Bill 160, which culminated in a ten-day protest by teachers that signaled an educational crisis in Ontario
Summary
On 27 October 1997, close to 126,000 Ontario teachers took to the streets to demonstrate their frustration with the proposed Education Quality Improvement Act (Bill 160). What followed during the 1980s and early 1990s were a series of reports from public and private sector organization that analyzed and offered prescriptions for federal and provincial governments to consider in response to high unemployment and growing debt levels Some of these reports noted that the traditional Keynesian approach used by governments, including Canada and its provincial counterparts, was no longer able to respond to these new global economic shocks and shifts. Universities and corporate sector interests were questioning the basic knowledge of students seeking post-secondary education or career employment opportunities These reports stressed the need for governments to recognize the rising force of global capitalism, and to promote educational policies that stressed marketstyle modes of governance in relation to financing education, curriculum planning and assessment methods. While teachers and their unions operate within state structures, they may be active in resisting, challenging or even mobilizing themselves and the public
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