The Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation has found an entirely new argument in its campaign against larger classes and fewer teachers. The issue is about more than just students and teachers, the union says. It’s about the economy. If Ontario cuts education, “everyone will pay more,” the union claims in a tagline for its new ad campaign.
The notion that the more government spends on some things, the less it will have to spend overall is certainly an attractive one and it drew former premier Dalton McGuinty like a fly to economic theory. If only government could save enough by spending more, the budget would balance itself. We all know how that turned out.
Ontario’s hefty deficit is the big piece of context that both the conference board and the union ignore. The provincial government doesn’t have that luxury. It wants larger high school classes as part of its attempt to balance the budget over five years. Naturally, the union will oppose anything that reduces its membership. The fight will start when school resumes this fall and it promises to be ugly and emotional.
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