GRAND ERIE—Education workers from across Brant, Haldimand, and Norfolk gathered outside a provincial constituency office to protest what they describe as chronic underfunding, rising workplace violence, and the erosion of local democratic oversight in Ontario’s public education system.
The rally, held January 28, 2026, drew roughly 50 participants, including teachers, educational assistants, and other school staff representing multiple unions. Organizers said the demonstration was intended to draw public attention to failures of provincial policy decisions in classrooms.
“We are seeing an unprecedented amount of unmet student needs in our classroom, resulting in violence,” said Carolyn Proulx-Wootton, President of the Grand Erie Elementary Teachers’ Federation. “It’s directly related to the $6.3 billion that the Ford government has underfunded Ontario schools since 2019.”
Proulx-Wootton said education workers continue to support students despite mounting pressures and limited resources. She described widespread burnout and moral distress among staff who are compensating for the absence of psycho-educational assessments, speech and language services, autism therapies, mental health supports, and educational assistants.
“Education workers show extraordinary professionalism and care every day, but they are stretched far beyond what any education worker should be asked to carry,” she said.
Union leaders disputed government claims that education spending has increased, arguing that funding has not kept pace with inflation, enrolment growth, or the increasing complexity of student needs.
Carlo Fortino, President of the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association, said he has received a growing number of calls from members who feel overwhelmed and unsafe at work.
“I’m tired of getting calls from my members who feel like they’re in crisis,” he said. “Some want to retire early. Others at the beginning of their career want to get out early.”
He said schools are fundamentally different environments than they were even a decade ago, citing dysregulated student behaviour and a lack of early intervention supports.
“If you don’t get to the kids in the early years, the student might shut down or, more likely, act out,” Fortino said.
Robin Sweers, an educational assistant and executive member with CUPE 5100, said staffing shortages have left support workers stretched across multiple classrooms and students.
“Educational assistants are being asked to support five, six, seven students at a time,” Sweers said. “You’re not providing service. You’re not skill building. You’re running from crisis to crisis.”
Sweers said the current environment teaches students that extreme behaviour is the only way to receive adult attention: “I became an EA to help kids learn, not to run from room to room dealing with students who are completely dysregulated,” she said.
Andrea Murray, President of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation District 23 teachers’ bargaining unit, said the erosion of classroom supports has contributed to burnout among both veteran and new teachers.
“When I started teaching 25 years ago, we had EAs in the classroom to support student academic needs,” Murray said. “Experienced teachers are burning out, and newer teachers are questioning whether this is sustainable long term.”
Murray said school boards are being asked to manage increasingly complex needs without the funding or tools to do so safely.
In addition to funding concerns, speakers criticized the passage of Bill 33, which allows the province to appoint supervisors to school boards and suspend elected trustees.
“The concern we have is that it centralizes power in the minister of education’s hands and undermines local democratic voices,” Proulx-Wootton said.
She noted that publicly elected school board trustees have existed in Ontario since 1816 and believes local representation allows communities to advocate for programs and decisions that reflect regional needs.
“We don’t have to agree with our trustees, but we have a right to a democratically elected representative,” she said.
Fortino said the removal of trustees is especially concerning for families of vulnerable students.
“At least they had a local voice,” he said. “I can’t imagine being the parent of a vulnerable student now and having to phone a bureaucrat in Toronto.”
In a written statement, the Ministry of Education rejected the characterization that schools have been underfunded, saying provincial education funding has increased every year since 2018 to a record $30.3 billion. The ministry said this includes a 36% increase in special education funding.
The ministry said core education funding for the Grand Erie District School Board has increased by more than $96 million, while funding for the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board has increased by more than $65 million. It also said more than 10,000 new staff have been hired across the province, including 4,000 education assistants, and that funding for school safety initiatives is at the highest level in Ontario history.
“Our focus is on delivering better outcomes and greater certainty for students,” the statement said, adding that Bill 33 was passed to hold boards accountable and ensure resources are directed back into classrooms.
Haldimand–Norfolk MPP Bobbi Ann Brady noted that the $6.3 billion figure cited by unions reflects a funding gap rather than a direct cut.
“It’s not a cut. It’s a funding gap driven by provincial funding not keeping pace with inflation and enrolment growth since 2018,” Brady explained.
Brady said the gap has resulted in a per-student funding shortfall and structural deficits for school boards facing rising costs.
“I believe the funding model has to change,” she said.
Brady said concerns about education funding and staffing were repeatedly raised during recent finance committee hearings, where school boards, union representatives, and educators called for an updated funding formula.
“I don’t know what that looks like, but they do say the funding model needs to change,” she said.
On special education supports, Brady said education workers are correct in identifying gaps, but also pointed to ongoing recruitment challenges.
“A lot of those professionals have left the education system,” she said. “They’ve lost faith in the system.”
Brady believes current approaches to delivering special education supports are not working.
“We are spreading EAs, speech pathologists, and mental health workers across all schools, and it’s not working,” she said. “We need to reimagine what special education actually looks like in Ontario.”
Brady also questioned the government’s focus on school board trustees under Bill 33.
“The minister of education should focus on fixing the funding gap and the funding model,” she said.
“School board trustees are not perfect, but they are not the biggest issue in our education system.”
Education workers at the rally said restoring stability will require immediate and significant investment.
Proulx-Wootton said meaningful improvement in the Grand Erie region alone would require “no less than 100 additional support staff.”
