Across Canada, public school budgets are being cut.  Governments are announcing cuts to special education programs, budget cuts for school boards, school closures.  These three minute actions are for Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec.  If there are petitions or actions from other Canadian provinces to support our education systems, please forward them to [email protected]

Alberta:  Right now in Alberta, K-3 classes have approximately 20 students per class on average.  According to Mark Ramsankar, President of the Alberta Teachers Association, there are Alberta classrooms with 30 or more six- and seven-year-olds in one room and junior and senior high classes are much larger.  The 2015 budget is projected to include a 5% cut to public services—which would mean a cut of 2500 teaching positions in this year alone.  Read Mark Ramsankar’s article here, and sign up to stand for the Well Being of Children and Youth Conference to find out what you can do stand up for Alberta’s education system.

British Columbia: British Columbia’s 2015 budget includes an outright reduction of $29 million for education this year and another $25 million the following year. In addition, there are across the board cost increases that will significantly impact board budgets.  The budget includes a $30 million increase to independent private schools — almost exactly the amount being cut from the public system in the first year. Read more about this budget in this great post by rabble.ca blogger Tara Ehrcke  

On April 12, Families Against Cuts to Education (FACE) are organizing across British Columbia to protest these cuts.   Join the online actions or come out to a rally.

Ontario:  Ontario has been fast tracking school closures in Toronto and limiting public debate on the closures.  The province has also announced province wide cuts to special education programs.  As teachers, school staff, students, and parents reel from these proposed cuts, expect actions in your town.  Track what is happening at the Campaign for Public Education website.  Meanwhile, sign this petition telling Premier Wynne that these cuts are unacceptable.

Quebec:  The Quebec budget outlines a total of $729 in new cuts.  Based on current spending estimates for 2015, school boards will have $45 million less, CEGEP will get $21 million less, and there will be $10 million less for universities.  Read more about the Quebec budget here.   Join Printemps 2015, and read rabble.ca blogger Nora Loreto’s post about the mass arrests that signaled the start of the Printemps 2015 movement.