Hour 1 of Ottawa Now for Tues. September 1st, 2026

School is officially back in session for Ontario students, and it started with a bang at Queen’s Park. Speaking to the media in Hamilton earlier today, Education Minister Paul Calandra announced that the province is opening student and family support offices at every Ontario school board. Furthermore, every school board has to report to Ontario’s Education Ministry on a monthly basis. Now, these offices have been installed in 5 school boards already – all of which had been placed under provincial administration. Helping us read through the tea leaves is Martha Hradowy, the President of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation. Later in the program, we also speak to David Mastin, the President of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario. Shifting gears to local matters, Ottawa’s transit budget is still under a great deal of pressure. Right now, there is a revenue shortfall, which means the system isn’t bringing in as much money as it needs to. The City of Ottawa forecasted that ridership would be at 83 percent, and it built a budget based on that projection. It ended up being a few percentage points less – and the anticipated provincial funding still hasn’t surfaced. CFRA’s Andrew Pinsent has the latest developments in Hour 1. But first, we bring you up to speed on today’s top headlines.