The following is a fact-checked script used for my video on Doug Ford’s new education legislation, containing links to sources used.
Is the Doug Ford government finally doing something concrete about wokeism in Ontario schools?
Well, it looks like it.
Over the past few years, there have been story after story after story after story after story after story after story after story in local, national, and even international press about the left-wing, progressive, ideological insanity, or as I call it, “wokeism,” taking place in Ontario’s public schools.
And while Premier Doug Ford has called out some of the excesses of this wokeism, and his government has taken some actions to combat the most extreme excesses, he and his government have also credibly been accused of standing by and letting a lot of this wokeism go on.
Recently, the Toronto District School Board, arguably one of Canada’s most woke school boards, announced that it would embark on an aggressive cancel culture agenda and erase historical figures Henry Dundas, Egerton Ryerson and Sir John A. Macdonald from their schools.
But Thursday, Ford's new Education Minister Paul Calandra introduced new legislation that will, among other things, curb woke cancel culture in Ontario schools.
This legislation will require school boards to apply to the minister before changing the name of an existing school.
As the National Post reports, as a result, the Toronto District School Board has been stopped from erasing the names of Sir John A. Macdonald, Egerton Ryerson and Henry Dundas from its schools.
The legislation, called the Supporting Children and Students Act of 2025, also takes aim at school board accountability, in particular financial mismanagement.
Calandra said on X, “I should be able to move quickly when it is very clear that a school board has lost its way.”
It’s also worth noting that this news comes as it was announced that the Ontario Legislature will finally remove the boards around a statue of Sir John A. Macdonald in front of Queen’s Park.
So finally, some good education related news from a government that, in many conservatives’ opinions, has otherwise been rather disappointing.
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