Bill 33: A Power Grab That Silences Communities — and Workers

Education workers bring learning to life every day — strengthening the bond between classrooms and communities.

Bill 33 represents one of the most significant shifts in Ontario’s education governance in decades.

Under this legislation, the provincial government could remove the authority of locally elected school trustees and replace them with unelected political appointees who answer only to the Minister of Education and the Premier’s Office.

This isn’t a technical adjustment — it’s a deliberate power grab. It takes decision-making out of communities and concentrates it in Queen’s Park. Parents, workers, and residents will have no way to vote out or challenge these appointees.

Meanwhile, this Bill does nothing to address the real issues facing Ontario’s schools: chronic underfunding, overcrowding, large class sizes, and inadequate staffing — the true causes behind the growing challenges in classrooms and school violence.

“Bill 33 removes your community’s voice from local schools.”

Trustees: The Bridge Between Families, Workers, and Communities

For many families, trustees are the people who step in when the system doesn’t work. Whether it’s a busing problem, a delay in special-education supports, a boundary issue, or confusion over school policies, trustees are often the first call parents make.

According to the Ontario Autism Coalition’s 2025 Special Education Survey, more than 102,000 students with exceptionalities relied on their trustee during the 2024–25 school year for help accessing supports.

For education workers, this matters too. When students get the help they need, classrooms function better, workloads are manageable, and everyone benefits. Removing trustees would eliminate this vital bridge — leaving families and workers alike to deal with distant provincial bureaucracies instead of accessible local advocates.

The Impact on Labour Relations and Collective Bargaining

Bill 33 would also reshape how Ontario’s education workers negotiate and enforce their rights.

Our current system has both central and local bargaining tables. Provincially, the government negotiates with education unions and the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association (OPSBA) on big-picture items like wages, benefits, and class size. Locally, school boards negotiate directly with union locals to address community-specific issues — like staffing specialized programs or ensuring health and safety needs are met.

If trustees are eliminated, OPSBA disappears — and with it, the voice of local boards at the bargaining table. Centralized bargaining could replace local negotiations entirely, with Queen’s Park imposing one-size-fits-all decisions.

“Centralizing bargaining and grievances turns local problem-solving into province-wide political bottlenecks.”

This shift would strip away the ability of communities to shape their schools and workplaces, making education more politicized, less transparent, and less responsive to local needs.

Local Democracy in Action: The Debate on Policing in Schools

One of the clearest examples of why local decision-making matters is the long-standing debate over policing in schools.

Across Ontario, Black, Indigenous, and other racialized families have raised concerns about the harm caused by school resource-officer programs. Many local trustee boards listened and acted — suspending or ending these programs after students and communities spoke up. In some cases, elections brought new trustees who campaigned on creating safer, more inclusive schools.

These democratic changes were possible because of locally elected trustees. If Bill 33 passes, that decision-making power disappears. Political appointees in Toronto won’t be accountable to the communities most affected by their choices.

“Trustees have been one of the few democratic spaces where communities could challenge systemic racism in schools. Bill 33 would take that away.”

We Don’t Always Agree — But We Can Hold Them Accountable

Trustees have sometimes supported cuts or policies that workers and communities opposed — and that’s part of democracy. But because they are locally elected, we can organize, campaign, and hold them accountable — a tool DRLC has effectively used to recruit, endorse, and elect progressive trustees.

Over time, that collective engagement has changed the makeup of school boards across Ontario, bringing in trustees who share community values of equity, inclusion, and strong public education.

Bill 33 would erase that democratic pathway entirely. Education workers, parents, and community advocates would lose one of the few levers they have to shape the education system.

“We don’t always agree with trustees — but we can organize, campaign, and hold them accountable. We can’t do that with Ford’s appointees.”

The Bigger Picture: Centralization Across Education

Bill 33 isn’t limited to K–12 schools. It also extends the government’s control over universities and colleges — from student fees to admissions and even research oversight. It threatens campus services, academic freedom, and equity in higher education.

Across all levels, this Bill is part of a broader agenda to silence local voices and centralize power. It’s about control, not improvement.

A Call for Solidarity

Ontario’s education system has always relied on a partnership between families, educators, students, and communities. Trustees are a key part of that partnership — the democratic link that keeps schools connected to the people they serve.

Bill 33 would sever that link.

Whether you are a parent, a student, an educator, or a union member, your voice matters. This is a moment for solidarity — to stand together for democracy, for local accountability, and for public education that reflects the communities it serves.

Together, we can stop this power grab. Together, we can protect public education.

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