While the Ford government continues to tout Ontario’s back-to-school plan as safe, the consensus among parents, teachers, local public health authorities, and others is that additional provincial funding is needed.
On August 5, 2020, the Federal Minister of Infrastructure and Communities Catherine McKenna announced that the Canada Infrastructure Program was being adjusted so that provinces and territories can use federal funding to act quickly on a wider range of more pandemic-resilient infrastructure projects, including retrofitting schools to allow kids to go to school safely. This funding stream could be worth up to $3.3-billion.
Usually, provincial funding is the only source of money for investment in Ontario’s publicly funded school buildings so this is a welcome source of new funding!
To ensure a safe restart, we're providing over $230 million to support enhanced cleaning, PPE and staffing needs in our child care & early years centres.
As more moms & dads return to work, we'll continue to prioritize the health & safety of children & staff.#KeepingKidsSafe
— Stephen Lecce (@Sflecce) August 7, 2020
We heard on August 7, 2020 that the Ford government, in partnership with the federal government, is providing $234.6 million in funding to keep children and staff safe in child care and early years settings to help pay for enhanced cleaning costs and health and safety requirements. Fix Our Schools is calling upon the Ford government to also commit additional funding to Ontario’s publicly funded schools to keep students, teachers and education workers safe in schools. Whether partnering with our federal government, digging into our own provincial coffers, or most likely – a combination of both – additional funding is a requirement for a safe return to school in Ontario.