Hello - I read today in Moira MacDonald's column that Minister Wynne has axed the provincial parents group. To be honest when I found out that the Minister was expunging the group out of the education act, the writing was on the wall long ago.
I don't think replacing the group with regional PICs will change things unfortunately. All that's going to do is move the frustration felt by parents at the provincial level down to regional level.
What's really rich, and something that I agree totally with in MacDonald's column is that the provincial group was doomed when it moved in the hierarchy to under the Policy and Program Branch. I believe that PPB put up the blocks and the gov't knew it.
The gov't has now officially washed its hands of their partnership with parents at provincial level.
Instead of spending money supporting the provincial parents group, an office, meetings etc. That money is now going to councils and parent outreach grants.
You do realized how watered down it's all become don't you.
First parents were promised a "partnership"(under Dave Cooke, Snobelen, Johnson).
Then it morphed to a parent "involvement" (Ecker, Witmer, Kennedy)
Now parent engagement is what we're aiming for (Wynne).
I predict that the minister just demoted parents in the province.
If the PPG and the OPC under the NDP/PCs would have been allowed to move to a different designation other than advisory to the Minister, the organization might have been relevant to parents at the local level and around the province.
For those participating here from that provincial parent group, thanks, it's not your fault. Governments have allow this to happen.
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