Peter Tabuns

10/02/2026

PASMA CALLS OUT CALANDRA FOR CREATING CHAOS IN ONTARIO CLASSROOMS

QUEEN’S PARK — Ontario NDP Shadow Minister for Education Chandra Pasma (Ottawa West—Nepean) is calling out Doug Ford's Minister of Education for creating unnecessary chaos in Ontario schools, as students and teachers face classroom reorganizations weeks into the school year:

“Every September, families have to watch their kids be forced to start over just weeks into the school year, losing teachers and routines, all because this government continues to prioritize funding cuts over the needs of students,” said MPP Pasma. “We shouldn’t see kids in three different grades put into a single classroom or teachers being fired, simply because of an arbitrary number. Our kids deserve more support, not less.

“To make matters worse, this year, disruptions for students are just the tip of the iceberg. Teachers are being booted from the portal connected to the government's multi-million-dollar Staples deal because of changes to classroom assignments or homeroom numbers, leaving them scrambling to access the supplies and resources they need for their classrooms. It’s been chaos.

"This Minister of Education needs to take responsibility for his decisions and start putting students ahead of his ideology of cuts.”

Elementary Educators East End Parents 4 Public Education EastEnd Parents

09/23/2026

TODAY! See you there!
FreeGrassy: Grassy Narrows Solidarity

Today, Grassy Narrows takes to the streets of Toronto.

After more than 60 years of mercury poisoning, the community is still fighting for justice. They are demanding that FordNation and Mark Carney compensate the community fairly and shut down the Dryden Mill.

Come march alongside Grassy Narrows.

09/23/2026

Thanks to South Riverdale Community Health Centre - SRCHC and Ralph Thornton Community Centre for hosting this important gathering!

🧡 Commemorate Truth, Healing, and Reconciliation with Community! 🧡

Join the Ralph Thornton Community Centre and the South Riverdale Community Health Centre on Thursday, September 24, from 1:00 to 3:00 PM at 955 Queen St. E. for an afternoon of community and connection.

What's happening?
🍲 A delicious community meal
🛍️ A vibrant Indigenous marketplace featuring Indigenous vendors
✨ A smudging ceremony
🤗 Friendship bracelet making
🩺 The SRCHC Mobile Health Clinic
💜 Local community resources
✨ And so much more!

🎁 Stay until the end for a FREE raffle featuring gift baskets filled with items from Indigenous marketplace vendors.

This event is FREE and open to everyone! Let's come together to honour truth, healing, and reconciliation through learning, reflection, and respect. 🧡

09/14/2026

See you next Wednesday - September 23rd !
Details here: https://freegrassy.net/

09/03/2026

PASMA: FORD GOVERNMENT’S TOUGH TALK ON U.S. GOES QUIET AS STAPLES OVERCHARGES EDUCATORS

QUEEN’S PARK –– Ontario NDP Shadow Minister for Education Chandra Pasma (Ottawa West––Nepean) is continuing to call on Doug Ford and his Conservative government to throw out their school supplies deal with American-owned Staples, following news that the retailer is charging Ontario educators higher-than-retail prices through the provincial portal:

“This was a bad deal from the beginning,” said Pasma. “Forcing Ontario teachers and education workers to rely on one American-owned corporation for school supplies never made sense. To now find out that Staples was charging them more through the provincial portal would defy belief if it weren’t so on-brand for the Ford government.

“Doug Ford and Minister Calandra never made this deal to help Ontario’s classrooms, they did it to help corporations pump up their bottom line at the expense of our kids and educators. It’s interesting how their tough talk against the United States doesn’t extend to an American corporation price-gouging Ontario’s educators and taking money out of our classrooms.

“The Ford government needs to get serious on Buy Ontario First mandates, and on education. Give our schools the funding they need, and let our educators stand up for Canada by giving them the ability to shop local. Better yet, they should actually invest in our classrooms so teachers and education workers aren’t scrambling to buy supplies.”

Chandra Pasma Elementary Educators Ontario Parents for Education Support EastEnd Parents

08/27/2026

On Wednesday September 23rd, 2026, community members and leaders will travel 1,700km from FreeGrassy: Grassy Narrows Solidarity to Toronto to demand that Ontario and Canada:

🔶Compensate everyone in Grassy Narrows fairly for the mercury crisis
🔶End the pollution by stopping the Dryden mill and ending mining and nuclear waste plans that threaten Grassy Narrows
🔶Support Grassy Narrows in restoring their community and way of life from the damage that mercury has done.

FreeGrassy: Grassy Narrows Solidarity

Follow this link to RSVP -- https://actionnetwork.org/events/river-run-2026

08/27/2026

Thanks to East End Community Health Centre for their care-filled programming like this 7 week option, focusing on health eating for healthy aging!

08/21/2026

MPP PASMA URGES FORD, CALANDRA TO AVOID STUDENT TRANSPORTATION DISRUPTION

OTTAWA — Chandra Pasma, Ontario NDP MPP for Ottawa West—Nepean and Official Opposition Shadow Minister for Education released the following statement in response to news of potential disruption to student transportation in Eastern Ontario:

“The Ford government has known for years that their student transportation funding formula is broken. It is families who end up on the hook time and time again, and yet the Premier and Minister of Education refuse to fix it. Now, families across Eastern Ontario face a situation where there could be no school buses on the first day of school.

“We saw what happened firsthand in Renfrew County when no buses were running. Parents have to spend time and money getting their kids to school, impacting the family budget and employment. Some kids just won’t be at school at all.

“This can’t happen again in Ontario. The Minister of Education needs to roll up his sleeves, get to the table, and conclude an agreement with bus operators quickly so that they can hire drivers and be prepared to run routes on the first day of school.

“The Ford government must stop the repeated cuts, and properly fund every part of our education system so that our kids get the supports they deserve, including student transportation.”

Chandra Pasma

08/21/2026

ICYMI -
FAO REPORT SHOWS ONTARIO LOSING CONSTRUCTION JOBS WHILE HOUSING CRISIS CONTINUES

QUEEN'S PARK – The latest FAO economic report highlights troubling warning signs for Ontario's economy, including the loss of more than 4000 construction jobs; the weakest housing starts in the country, declining public investment, and rising food prices.

"At a time when Ontario desperately needs more homes, we're losing construction jobs and housing activity is weak,” said Shadow Minister for Finance and Treasury Board Jessica Bell (University—Rosedale). “Every construction job lost means fewer homes built and fewer opportunities for workers. Ontario has the worst house starts in Canada and it’s clear Doug Ford’s plan is failing to make homes more affordable for Ontarians."

The Ontario NDP is renewing their calls for Homes Ontario, a public agency to build and finance affordable housing construction and create good jobs, alongside renewed public investment in hospitals, schools, transit and other critical public services.

"Instead of pointing to global uncertainty, the government should focus on what it can control: building affordable homes, creating jobs and helping families afford the basics,” said Shadow Minister for Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade Catherine Fife (Waterloo). Ontarians can’t afford a scandal plagued premier whose strategy for an improved economy is to cross their fingers and hope global issues solve themselves."

Jessica Bell Catherine Fife