To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:
WHEREAS advocates spent years presenting the Ontario government with evidence that School Resource Officers (police placed permanently in schools) did not increase safety and caused further criminalization of marginalized students;
WHEREAS after years of advocacy, SROs were removed from schools due to overwhelming evidence of their lack of effectiveness;
WHEREAS Bill 33 unilaterally reinstated SROs without community consultation;
WHEREAS Bill 33 has many other damaging effects on our children and youth, including giving the government power to take over school boards (a power they have already used), interfering with admissions processes at colleges and universities;
WHEREAS Bill 33 fails to address the underfunding crises facing our public education, children’s aid, and post-secondary education sectors, instead imposing more top-down control over institutions operating on under-sized budgets.
WE, THE UNDERSIGNED, PETITION THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO AS FOLLOWS:
Not to pass Bill 33 and instead to table a bill properly funding our public education, children’s aid, and post-secondary education sectors, and committing to deep consultation with affected communities, including youth and families.