Educators and parents in the Kingston area are raising alarms about the Ford government’s new classroom supply initiative after realizing that eligible elementary teachers must order materials through a designated Staples portal.
As reported by The Trillium – a digital news outlet focusing on Ontario’s political landscape – some items seem to cost significantly more than what was previously available through school board purchasing systems.
The online portal, which launched on September 1 as part of Ontario’s Classroom Supplies Fund, allows eligible elementary teachers to access an annual budget of $750 for classroom supplies.
The province claims this program aims to lessen the personal expenses teachers face, with orders being processed via Staples Professional, the vendor chosen through a Supply Ontario procurement method.
However, criticism emerged almost right away in local social media groups as educators began using the new system.
In a post shared within the Kingston, Ontario, Community Facebook group, teacher Brooke Elizabeth noted that educators were already spotting issues related to both pricing and logistics.
“If your order has less than $50 in it, there’s a $10 shipping fee … which comes out of your $750,” Elizabeth wrote.
She also mentioned delays in delivery and questioned whether the value offered through the portal is adequate.
“Many of the items are MORE expensive than on the regular Staples website (or Walmart, or Amazon, or the dollar store),” she stated.
Elizabeth claimed that this program represented “Ford’s smoke and mirrors” while larger funding issues in public education remain unaddressed.
Another resident from Kingston, Adeline Martha, linked this new purchasing approach to broader concerns raised by education workers across Ontario.
“Today education unions across Ontario protested against the Ford govt. and their mishandling of education in this province,” Martha wrote in a Facebook post earlier this week.
“$750 for classroom teachers is smoke-and-mirror funding from the Ontario PCs,” she added. “Ask teachers what they really want and it’s NOT a one time $750 spending allowance. Not even close. It’s funds for more staffing supports.”
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Much of the backlash centers not only on pricing but also on the province’s stipulation that teachers can only buy supplies from Staples instead of local shops or independent educational suppliers or Canadian-owned businesses.
Critics argue that this arrangement restricts teachers’ capacity to maximize classroom budgets while channeling millions of dollars in public spending through just one supplier.
Opposition parties have also scrutinized this decision as Premier Ford continues promoting “Buy Ontario” and “Buy Canadian” messaging amid ongoing trade tensions with America.
We are being absolutely swindled.
Unnamed teacher Social media post
Concerns intensified after reports surfaced indicating that some products available on the portal were priced higher than those previously negotiated via school board purchasing agreements.
According to The Trillium’s reporting, educators compared prices from their new portal with past records from school boards and found notable discrepancies.
The report highlighted copy paper priced at $84.49 on the Staples portal versus a prior board price of $49.85; Duotangs listed at 96 cents each compared to 38 cents through board catalogues; meanwhile packages of notebooks were also shown as much pricier.
A teacher told The Trillium, “We are being absolutely swindled.”
The province has acknowledged issues with how things rolled out but insists many concerns come from how products are displayed within this system.
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Education Minister Paul Calandra mentioned that there are over 200 essential classroom items featured at specially discounted rates and said teachers might be comparing those products against ones outside this discounted list.
“The 200 products we’re offering represent the absolute cheapest options available across Staples or any other platform,” Calandra stated during a press conference earlier this week.
Calandra characterized this system as something “not meant to be perfect right away” and confirmed that they’re collaborating with Staples to tackle pricing issues while making it simpler for educators to find discounted goods.
This controversy has reignited wider discussions about educational funding.
p>This controversy has reignited wider discussions about educational funding.
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