After years of hiding from striking workers and university students in Queens Park, another monster is keeping Doug Ford up at night —high school students!
On March 24th, Ford’s education minister, Paul Calandra, sent a letter to Ontario school boards warning that all graduation speeches be “apolitical” and “strictly student-centred.” This is, without a doubt, in response to students’ anger towards Ford’s cuts to OSAP grants.
High school students will be the most affected by these cuts. They will have to take out more loans every year to pay for post-secondary education. Many of these students have already begun planning their future and now may no longer be able to go to university at all or be forced to graduate with an average of up to $27,000 in debt.
Thus, it is no surprise that high school students have been some of the most militant fighters against these attacks. Since the cuts were announced, countless high schools have walked out across the province.
Ford’s attempt to limit free speech will not save him. These students have grown up watching him and his friends profit while the crisis of capitalism takes away everything in life they have to look forward to. When these students graduate, they will form a new layer of the labour and student movement and will stop at nothing to bring down Ford.
– Azriel K., Toronto
