Equity Undone: The Impact of the Conservative Ontario Government's Education Reforms on the Triangle Program

Abstract

ABSTRACT While many schools and boards of education are currently forming viable partnerships with queer community organizations in an effort to build upon existing anti-homophobia initiatives, there has been an erosion of such programs in Ontario, Canada. The education system has felt the effects of almost a decade of a conservative government, including a decrease in power of locally elected school boards, the amalgamation of cities, and serious cuts to programs serving the needs of marginalized communities. The author, a former consultant at the Toronto District School Board in the Equity Department and teacher/coordinator of the Triangle Program (the only high school classroom for queer youth in Canada), traces the effects of these political changes on the program and the infrastructure which supports it.