Ontario

Tuesday October 23, 2001

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday October 23, 2001

Liberal Leadership Hopeful

As several Conservative cabinet ministers prepare to square off in the coming race to succeed Ontario Premier Mike Harris, another more subtle positioning is also under way.

Lyn McLeod, Bob Rae, Mike Harris. Ancaster News, 1995 – 1996. Graeme MacKay went by the pseudonym “Ham”.

Opposition Liberals are also fine-tuning their strategy, adapting it to a political landscape that’s now suddenly devoid of the familiar opponent they once called “Chainsaw Mike.”

There’s no guarantee that the substantial lead Dalton McGuinty’s Liberals currently enjoy in the polls will be there come election time, which is likely still two years away, experts say.

A cautious, moderate approach in the coming months would serve the Liberals well, agreed Henry Jacek, a professor of political science at McMaster University in Hamilton.

“People do not like confrontation now — they want a softer, kinder, gentler government that will pull people together,” Jacek said. That desire has only grown since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, he added.

The new attitude of voters could give McGuinty, long seen as less slick and savvy than his Conservative counterparts, a distinct advantage, Jacek said.

“Suddenly, the so-called liabilities of McGuinty — his soft questions — now are much more what the Ontario public wants. They want a soothing leader.” (Hamilton Spectator)

 

Thursday August 16, 2001

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday August 16, 2001

Let’s not take summer away from our kids; Education: An idea with merit, but not now

Not here, not now. There’s a case to be made for an expanded school year that students (and their parents) could opt into. The province’s Task Force on Effective Schools is fundamentally right in suggesting some study on the issue is worthwhile.

A shorter (five-week) summer break and other more frequent breaks through the rest of the school year has shown itself to be a popular option for eight schools operated by four boards across the province. Student learning momentum is kept without a two-month interruption, and some families obviously find rescheduled holidays work for them.

But they certainly won’t work for everyone, and since our climate makes air-conditioning a requisite for summer programs, some boards would find it financially disastrous.

This is an idea that should be considered across the province only in the long term. Now is not the time to bring more radical change into Ontario’s schools.

Teachers and students are already trying to cope with enough change to rattle anyone: New curriculum; standardized testing; the loss of specialized special-ed, music and physical education teachers; textbook short ages; teacher testing/recertification (and the resistance that goes with it); the end of OAC and the so-called “double cohort; ” a loss of experienced teachers to early-retirement offers; and still uncertainty about after-school activities. And that’s not including the funding shortfalls and inequities that are forcing school boards into confrontations with their teachers and damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don’t choices about what they can a fford. Just about the last thing school boards need is a provincial directive to offer alternative school-year programs.

But there’s more to this than the logistics of climate control and issues of teacher contracts, parents’ schedules and learning retention.

Summer holiday is one of the last great perks of being a kid. The great writer Ray Bradbury wrote in his book Dandelion Wine about how, for a youngster, summer holidays begin by stretching off to a distant horizon, with the next school year so far away it doesn’t bear thinking about. When school lets out, summer is an infinite time of hikes and games and adventures, swimming and sports, comic books and fireflies and sprinklers to be run through. All too soon, part-time, then full-time, jobs strip that away. We need to really think about if schooling should take away the rest.

In this part of the world, summer is still, for most youngsters, so anticipated that it makes the rest of the school year bearable. It doesn’t matter if it’s Haliburton or Hutch’s, Wasaga Beach or Pier 4, the Bruce Trail or the Bayfront Trail, summer is still when families do the things we don’t make time for during the rest of the year.

There are some things more important than keeping our nose to the grindstone. And what our children make of their summers is part of that. (Hamilton Spectator Editorial, A10, 8/16/2001)

Wednesday July 4, 2001

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday July 4, 2001

Walkerton inquiry attitude stirs criticism

Whether or not they believe the Harris government’s policies led to the tainted water catastrophe in Walkerton Ontarians are expressing outrage over the premier’s apparent lack of contrition on the witness stand last week.

The days following the slump-shouldered premier’s testimony at the public inquiry into the tragedy have produced vociferous attacks on his refusal to apologize in letters to the editor, radio and television commentaries, local pubs and barber shops.

One letter published in a Toronto newspaper offered the analogy to Mike Harris, a former golf pro: if a golf-course manager ruins his golf course by cutting staff and skimping on equipment, who is responsible?

Another stated simply, “it is appalling that we should have sunk to re-electing a moral midget.”

Given his refusal to repent, the avalanche of criticism focused not just on Harris’s political credibility but on his willingness — or lack thereof — to “do the right thing.”

Staging the inquiry in the tiny southwestern Ontario town where seven people died and thousands more fell ill last May only intensified the expectation that Harris would take a stab at making amends, said political scientist Henry Jacek.

“For him to go to the scene of the crime and not apologize to people there for his policies was probably worse (than if the inquiry were held elsewhere),” said the public policy expert at McMaster University.

“He really had to apologize, but he refused to take responsibility, let alone show any emotion. He just completely misread (the situation).” (Hamilton Spectator) (Old website.)

 

Tuesday September 12, 2000

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Tuesday September 12, 2000 Ontarians have had it with classroom warfare; Education: Public won't support disruptions Ontario's schools are once again in danger of becoming a labour relations battleground rather than a place for learning. The optimism that usually marks the start of the school year is missing, especially in public high schools, and there is concern for what lies ahead. Students and parents are worried about teachers working to rule; withdrawing extra-curricular activities, includi ng sports and after-school clubs; and taking other job actions, such as rotating walkouts and possibly even a strike in Toronto. It is an understatement to say that Ontarians are tired of the continuing tension and uncertainty. What is most frustrating is the apparent inability of the Mike Harris government and Ontario's teachers' unions to discuss their differences, or at least agree to a truce until the next provincial election campaign is under way. It's unrealistic to expect that relations between the Tories and the unions will be easily repaired in the wake of the government's heavy-handed Bill 74, the Education Accountability Act, which among other things increases high school teachers' course load and could mandate extra-curricular involvement. But it's not asking too much of all parties to go the extra mile to start communicating with each other to avoid damaging, unnecessary disruption in schools. Harris has an opportunity to take a more constructive direction by opting for a more moderate, less confrontational and more inclusive approach to education reform. Last week, the premier said that his government plans a more pragmatic, less ideological approach to governing -- but he wasn't specific. Education is an ideal place for Harris to show that he's serious about adopting a Bill Davis, consensus-building style. He would send a good signal by slowing down to listen to what critics are saying. This gov

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday September 12, 2000

Ontarians have had it with classroom warfare; Education: Public won’t support disruptions

Ontario’s schools are once again in danger of becoming a labour relations battleground rather than a place for learning. The optimism that usually marks the start of the school year is missing, especially in public high schools, and there is concern for what lies ahead. Students and parents are worried about teachers working to rule; withdrawing extra-curricular activities, includi ng sports and after-school clubs; and taking other job actions, such as rotating walkouts and possibly even a strike in Toronto.

It is an understatement to say that Ontarians are tired of the continuing tension and uncertainty. What is most frustrating is the apparent inability of the Mike Harris government and Ontario’s teachers’ unions to discuss their differences, or at least agree to a truce until the next provincial election campaign is under way. It’s unrealistic to expect that relations between the Tories and the unions will be easily repaired in the wake of the government’s heavy-handed Bill 74, the Education Accountability Act, which among other things increases high school teachers’ course load and could mandate extra-curricular involvement. But it’s not asking too much of all parties to go the extra mile to start communicating with each other to avoid damaging, unnecessary disruption in schools.

Harris has an opportunity to take a more constructive direction by opting for a more moderate, less confrontational and more inclusive approach to education reform. Last week, the premier said that his government plans a more pragmatic, less ideological approach to governing — but he wasn’t specific. Education is an ideal place for Harris to show that he’s serious about adopting a Bill Davis, consensus-building style. He would send a good signal by slowing down to listen to what critics are saying. This government has assumed almost complete control of education from school boards, barging ahead on major reforms with relatively little concern for the views of teachers’ unions.

There is an equal onus on the union leaders to hold their noses and offer to dialogue with the Tories, starting with the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation. The OSSTF acted responsibly by returning to school on schedule this month. However, the union drew a line in the sand by pledging to battle the demands of Bill 74 in negotiating unsigned teachers’ contracts. In Toronto, 7,000 public high school teachers have set Oct. 2 as a strike date if negotiations fail. The OSSTF is walking a fine line. Job actions that detract from the quality of a student’s overall educational experience are ultimately self-defeating.

The OSSTF and the other unions have every right to oppose the Tory agenda, take their issues to the public, and campaign for a new government in the next election. But the battle shouldn’t be fought on the backs of students. Both sides must preserve the integrity of the classroom and all of the after-school programs that are fundamental to a good education. (Source: Hamilton Spectator Editorial)