News from OPEN - Ontario Provincial Education Network
Statement by Minister of Education Gerard Kennedy
April 5, 2006
I have come here with the Premier to announce my decision today
to step down as Minister of Education.
Over the past two-and-a-half years, I have had the tremendous privilege,
as Ontario's Minister of Education, to serve students and help develop
our society's future. I am very grateful to Premier Dalton McGuinty
for the opportunity to have done so.
On many levels this has been an extremely difficult decision for
me, primarily because of how strongly I believe in what all of us
are accomplishing in education.
Today, my concern is to ensure that the many important policies
and projects for students through the Ministry of Education and
its education partners are not adversely affected by this decision.
Far more than an $18 billion ministry, education is a cause to this
Premier and this government.
I want every one of our students, too many of whom went through
difficult learning conditions before we came to government, to know
that an entire province wants them to reach their full potential.
I want parents to know that we are on track to deliver the improved
education excellence that they are expecting: smaller class sizes,
improved reading, writing and math, massive building renewal, increased
speciality learning in phys-ed and the arts, new student success
options in high school, and a declining dropout rate are but some
of the measures fully underway. I thank them for their patience
and their increasing participation in their children's education.
I want educators, support staff and school boards to know that
while I am leaving, the same attitude of respect and problem resolution,
which I believe has marked all of my relations with them, is held
by the entire government. Your efforts and sacrifice and the success
you are achieving with students are starting to be noticed by the
public at large and, I believe, a new appreciation of publicly funded
education has begun.
I know that this revitalization of education is still in process
and much more needs to be done. At the same time, I firmly believe
that the groundwork for a long-lasting education partnership is
in place, and I know that the entire government is committed to
see it go forward, no one more so than Premier McGuinty who has
been intimately involved every step of the way.
I believe in this so strongly, I have arranged to continue to contribute
as a Special Transition Advisor to the Premier and the new Minister,
even as I set off in a new direction.
Similarly I believe strongly in this Premier and this government
as a whole, whose accomplishments in health care, economic development,
the environment and education are now becoming evident.
While the momentum for education in Ontario is still growing, I
view my contribution as a catalyst for bringing people and ideas
together to get results. I am confident this turnaround will continue
to grow in my absence, thanks to the new positive outlook of the
sector and the tremendous strength of our government caucus.
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