Chandra Pasma
Ontario NDP Deputy House Leader and Shadow Minister for Education, MPP for Ottawa West–Nepean. Has led opposition to all three major Ford government education governance bills — Bill 33 (school board takeovers), the trustee elimination proposals, and Bill 101. Warned that Bill 101 is "locking parents out of being able to have a say about their kids' education" and accused the government of "setting the stage for privatization down the road."
Connected Scandals
The Ford government has tabled Bill 101 — the Putting Student Achievement First Act — replacing elected directors of education with CEOs requiring business credentials, gutting trustees' budget and bargaining powers, and mandating government-approved lesson plans in every classroom, while education unions warn it is a roadmap to corporate control of Ontario's public schools.
As NDP Shadow Minister for Education, Pasma has been the primary legislative opponent of Bill 101, publicly condemning the bill as "Ford government's heavy-handed school takeover" and warning that replacing directors with business-credentialed CEOs sets the stage for education privatization. Her critiques are documented by the Ontario NDP and widely cited in news coverage.
A leaked Ministry of Education ad script obtained by The Trillium shows actors playing parents criticizing teacher unions over sick days and doctor's notes, produced while five major education unions have suspended bargaining. Education Minister Paul Calandra defended the campaign; ETFO's president called it a taxpayer-funded smear campaign.
NDP education critic who called the planned ads "ludicrous," said "teachers and education workers haven't been using our taxpayer dollars to do it," and accused Paul Calandra of "ragging the puck in bargaining" while planning to "spend our taxpayer dollars attacking teachers and education workers."