Dear neighbour,
There are many things I treasure about our public school system, from seeing kids make lifelong friends, to marveling at our children learning to read, write, and play sport. At the same time, I know - as a parent and a politician - that our schools have challenges, challenges we can fix.
Our kids are now back in school. This is the time where we get to understand the impact of the latest budget cuts and the replacement of school board trustees with some very expensive unelected supervisors to oversee our school boards. Here’s what we know so far.
Many schools are grappling with very large class sizes.
Enrolment to alternative schools has been arbitrarily capped, well below demand.
Parents are finding it hard to navigate the school board and work out who to talk to if they have concerns about their child’s education. Here’s an updated “Who to go to” guide on the TDSB’s website.
The supervisor for the TDSB Rohit Gupta has made his first terrible decision and increased the class size cap for special education classes. Beverley school has lost a teacher, and Heydon Park Secondary School will no longer be accepting Grade 9 students starting this school year. Why anyone would want to make school and life even harder for kids struggling with a disability and the parents who care for them is beyond me.
Making school boards less democratic, and limiting parental say over our schools, is not going to improve the classroom experience. Improving the quality of our children’s education requires more investment from the provincial government, smaller class sizes, and more staffing, especially for high needs kids.
I will continue to share useful and strategic steps we can take to improve our public schools. Join the Phone zap action to the Minister of Education on Monday September 29 at 7pm. Attend the Trustee townhall on Tuesday October 14 at 6.30pm at 16 Spadina Road. Invite me to attend your parent council meeting to get an update from your school community.
For our kids,
Sincerely,
Jessica Bell
MPP, University-Rosedale
In this newsletter:
- Upcoming Townhall: the Future of Public Education
- Join Monday’s phone zap to defend public education
- Housing slowdown puts 100,000 jobs at risk
- Standing up for college support workers
- Ford’s speed camera ban puts lives in danger
- Keeping our healthcare public: Townhall recap
- Tariff talk: safeguarding jobs, workers, and the economy
- I’m happy to share our new 2025 Seniors Guide!
- Become an OLA Page!
- New online resource for youth mental health
Upcoming Townhall: the Future of Public Education
Join parents, students, educators, and community members on Tuesday, October 14 at 6:30 PM at 16 Spadina Road for a town hall hosted by elected trustees to discuss what’s happening in our schools.
One key issue on the table here is Bill 33, a sweeping piece of legislation that gives the Education Minister alarming new powers, including the ability to take over school boards, impose police in schools, and sell off publicly owned school land without public input.
Learn what’s at stake, share your concerns, and stand together for democratic, accountable schools. Child minding provided. RSVP by hitting the button below.
Join Monday’s phone zap to defend public education
On Monday, September 29 at 7:00 PM, join the Toronto & York Region Labour Council for a virtual Phone Zap. Together, we’ll call key decision-makers to demand an end to supervision of the Toronto District School Board by an unelected supervisor and to stop Bill 33. RSVP by hitting the button below.
Housing slowdown puts 100,000 jobs at risk
A recent report shows that Canada is at risk of losing up to 100,000 good-paying jobs as housing starts collapse across the country. That’s a direct threat to families, communities, and our economy. Ontario is already facing rising unemployment and a sharp increase in the cost of living. The last thing workers need is more job losses in the middle of a housing crisis.
When construction slows down, the impacts ripple outward. Homes get delayed, tradespeople leave the sector, and local economies take a hit. This is exactly what happens when governments rely too heavily on the private market and fail to lead with public investment.
Ontario needs a plan that puts workers and renters at the centre of our economic recovery. That means investing in housing people can afford, using public tools like our Homes Ontario plan to build and protect affordable housing, and making sure the people who build this province can count on stable work and secure pay. We cannot afford to let this crisis deepen. Ontario should be leading the way, not standing by while workers and families pay the price. I want to hear your thoughts on this report.
You can contact our office to provide your feedback at [email protected] or 416-535-7206.
Standing up for college support workers
Last week, I joined striking college support workers at George Brown’s Casa Loma campus.
This strike is about the future of colleges in Ontario. Decades of government underfunding and cuts by the Ford government, as well as a decline in international enrollment have brought our colleges to the brink. There are an estimated 10,000 workers in Ontario’s public college system that have or will be laid off, and some 600 programs have been cut. College support workers deserve decent wages and job security.
Instead of properly funding our public college system, the Premier is handing out millions through the Skills Development Fund to private corporations and politically connected companies, many with ties to PC insiders.
Support workers are holding the line at campuses across Ontario, including George Brown’s Casa Loma and St. James campuses, right here in our community. I’m proud to stand with these workers, as we call for our public colleges and post-secondary system to be properly funded. If you are able, come down and show your support. You can find your closest strike line here.
Ford’s speed camera ban puts lives in danger
On September 25, Premier Doug Ford announced his plan to introduce legislation banning municipal speed cameras across Ontario. He called them a “cash grab.” But the facts tell a different story. Speed cameras are not a cash grab. They save lives.
A recent study led by researchers at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) and Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) found that automated speed cameras reduced speeding and aggressive driving in urban school zones. This means safer streets for kids walking to school, seniors crossing the street, and everyone walking, biking or driving through our neighbourhoods. Read the study here.
Police chiefs and municipalities have publicly questioned the Premier’s move to eliminate automated speed enforcement, especially since he’s offered no real alternative. Anyone with any expertise in road safety knows that big huge signs, flashing lights, and turnabouts don’t work on their own.
Instead of gutting proven safety measures, we should be scaling them up. I will continue to call for real investment in Vision Zero measures, which include changes to street design, lower speed limits, education and better enforcement of Ontario’s road rules to reduce the number of deaths and injuries on our streets to zero.
Keeping our healthcare public: Townhall recap
Last week, I was joined by MPPs Kristyn Wong-Tam and Robin Lennox, alongside Dr. Melanie Bechard from Canadians Doctors for Medicare and Michelle Robidoux from the Greater Toronto Health Coalition, at our Keep Healthcare Public online townhall.
Together we covered how to protect yourself from charges for necessary care, and what to look out for when you’re getting treatment that should be covered by OHIP. We also answered your questions about the creeping privatization that is taking place in our public healthcare system, and what you can do to take action.
You can find the information you need on our website here.
Tariff talk: safeguarding jobs, workers, and the economy
As a member of the Leader’s Advisory Council on Tariff Response and Economic Security, it was a pleasure to host a recent roundtable to discuss solutions to the employment crisis with economists, business and union representatives, academics and policy experts.
I was joined by MPPs Catherine Fife, Terence Kernaghan and Peggy Sattler, as we spoke with figures from the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC), the Future Skills Centre at Toronto Metropolitan University, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA), the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL), United Steelworkers (USW), the Broadbent Institute, CUPE National, and Canadians for Tax Fairness (CT4F).
Experts shared recommendations on how we can work to protect jobs, create new good jobs, strengthen our economy, and fight back against Trump's tariff threats.
This included:
- Proactive workforce planning and training, especially for growth sectors
- Supporting youth employment opportunities
- Pairing housing with transit, as part of wider public infrastructure investment
- Accessible and affordable childcare support
- Continuing our Homes Ontario plan - building affordable homes, supporting local jobs.
- Pairing tax credit benefits for businesses directly to job creation
- Funding colleges and post-secondary education properly, to aid skills development
- Investing in healthcare, so that less people face long-term unemployment due to ill health
We will be assessing and raising some of these solutions when we return to the legislature on October 20.
I’m happy to share our new 2025 Seniors Guide!
University—Rosedale is home to many seniors who help make our community strong, vibrant, and full of life.
As your MPP, I’ve had the chance to meet many of you at community events, tenant meetings, and town halls. You’ve shared your stories and concerns, and one thing has come through clearly: seniors want better access to reliable information about the services and supports available to them. This guide was created to help.
It brings together key resources for seniors in one place. Whether you're looking for health services, housing support, transit options, or ways to stay active and connected, I hope this guide empowers and informs you, making it easier to access services, programs and opportunities that will benefit you most.
You can access our 2025 Seniors Guide here.
Become a Page in the Ontario Legislative Assembly!
The recruitment period for the Spring 2026 session of the Legislative Page Program is now open until November 15, 2025. Each year, high-achieving, community-oriented Grade 7 and 8 students from across Ontario are chosen to serve as Legislative Pages.
This unique opportunity in Toronto allows selected students to become involved in Ontario’s parliamentary process, meet key figures, and make lifelong friendships with like-minded peers.
More information can be found here.
New online resource for youth mental health
Thriving Minds is a new partnership between SickKids, CAMH, and The Gary Hurvitz Centre for Community Mental Health dedicated to transforming child and youth mental health care.
The Thriving Minds is designed to make it easier for children, youth, families, and service providers to:
- Explore and access mental health programs and services across our three organizations
- Learn about program eligibility and referral processes
- Access educational tools and resources