March 24, 2003
Not for students of course. Ontario schools already have zero tolerance policies in place for them. What we need now is one for teachers.
Two weeks ago, Ontario Education Minister and Deputy Premier, Elizabeth Witmer was invited to speak at a convention of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association at the Sheraton Center Hotel in Toronto. Witmer’s appearance, unlike the previous ones by Liberal leader Dalton McGuinty and NDP leader Howard Hampton, was closed to the media. Witmer was booed and heckled by some of the sillies and ended up leaving early. As the Minister was going up the escalator, teachers, some of whom were wearing paper bags over their heads, approached her. A glass of water was thrown on Witmer, and one teacher either punched her or attempted to punch her.
Nature abhors a vacuum. While Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) leader John Clarke, along with two other OCAP members have been busy with their trial on criminal charges resulting from the June 2000 Queen’s Park riots, the poverty group has not been overly active of late with physical confrontations. The English Catholic teachers, it seems, are filling the vacuum.
To compare the ragtag poverty activists with members of the illustrious teaching profession is probably a bit unfair to OCAP. John Clarke and company have never resorted to putting paper bags over their heads, despite the fact that doing so would aesthetically enhance their protests. And although some OCAP members have been known to throw rocks, Molotov cocktails, and other projectiles at riot-gear wearing cops from time to time, they are not known for ganging up on diminutive middle-aged women like Elizabeth Witmer.
There is perhaps another reason why OCAP has been relatively silent lately. The poverty coalition probably has more political smarts than the molders of young liberal minds and, if that is true; it is a sad commentary on our education system. Former premier Mike Harris, whose Common Sense Revolution initiated the attacks on the Tory government by OCAP, the teachers, and others on the left, is gone. He has been replaced by Ernie " the magician" Eves (now you privatize it, now you don’t,) who is further to the left than the Liberals’ McGuinty.
Ontario is now in the middle of an unofficial election campaign, complete with media spots and a made-for-TV budget. Now is not the time for demonstrations--it is the time for those who oppose the Conservative government to work to defeat them. The teachers don’t seem to understand this. They would rather resort to silly, childish antics.
Now, some of the union officials and their supporters did come out with strong statements against the violence that was directed towards a Minister of the Crown. However, many of condemnations were tempered with "but…" Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association president Kathy McVean said that her beloved union is investigating, and that they "may" call the police. Had Witmer’s husband thrown water at her, these same people would bemoan domestic violence and demand a life sentence.
Responses like the one by Otto Weininger, a child psychologist (an appropriate professional to be commenting on the behaviour of members of the teaching profession,) were common. Weininger was quoted as saying that the teachers acted "immaturely and inadequately" but "…this reaction was as a result of anger, confusion, and frustration. They’re not getting the answers they want. They feel like they’ve been placed at the bottom of the list of professionals." Guess the poor little dears just couldn’t help themselves.
The "no justice, no peace" crowd have to learn that there cannot be justice until teachers are treated equally with students when it comes to zero tolerance for acts of violence.
And if paper bag wearing teachers are not at the bottom of the list of professionals, who is?