In 2018 MPP French signed the Fix Our Schools Pledge to create a Standard of Good Repair for Ontario schools
MPP Jennifer French of Oshawa Riding brought forward a petition in the House this week urging our new provincial government to reverse the decision to cut $100-million of funding from school repairs and to invest the $16-billion needed to tackle the repair backlog in Ontario’s schools. Oshawa’s $147-M of school disrepair was featured in the article entitled, “Oshawa MPP brings petition to Queen’s Park urging reversal on school repair funding cut: Advocacy group says Oshawa has $147 million in school disrepair”. The following is from the Hansard in Queen’s Park:
School facilities
Ms. Jennifer K. French: I have a petition to fund our schools.
“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:
“Whereas too many children are going to school in buildings without proper heating or cooling, with leaky roofs or stairways overdue for repair;
“Whereas after years of Conservative and Liberal governments neglecting schools, the backlog of needed repairs has reached $16 billion;
“Whereas during the 2018 election, numerous members of the Conservative Party, including the current Minister of Education, pledged to provide adequate, stable funding for Ontario’s schools;
“Whereas less than three weeks into the legislative session, Doug Ford and the Conservative government have already cut $100 million in much-needed school repairs, leaving our children and educators to suffer in classrooms that are unsafe and unhealthy;
“We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to direct the Minister of Education to immediately reverse the decision to cut $100 million in school repair funding, and invest the $16 billion needed to tackle the repair backlog in Ontario’s schools.”
I wholeheartedly support this petition, affix my name to it and send it with page Jamie.
To support MPP French’s petition, Fix Our Schools wanted to share the following details of disrepair each school in the Oshawa riding:
Total disrepair in each publicly funded school in Oshawa, for a total of $147.4-million of school disrepair in this riding:
| ÉÉP AntonineMaillet | $3,947,815 |
| Monsignor Paul Dwyer C.H.S. | $2,722,523 |
| Msgr. J. Pereyma C.S.S. | $3,983,704 |
| Msgr. Philip Coffey C.S. | $337,161 |
| Sir Albert Love C.S. | $3,030,166 |
| St. Christopher C.S. | $4,347,162 |
| St. Hedwig C.S. | $457,330 |
| St. John XXIII C.S. | $2,952,751 |
| St. Thomas Aquinas C.S. | $3,144,934 |
| ACEC E A Lovell PS | $5,896,385 |
| Adelaide Mclaughlin PS | $3,960,522 |
| Beau Valley PS | $2,401,725 |
| Bobby Orr Public School | $621,070 |
| College Hill PS | $2,612,354 |
| Coronation PS | $1,927,758 |
| Dr CF Cannon PS | $2,219,051 |
| Dr S J Phillips PS | $3,836,562 |
| Eastdale C & VI | $16,115,825 |
| Forest View PS | $6,057,634 |
| G L Roberts C & VI | $11,832,605 |
| Glen Street PS | $3,889,417 |
| Gordon B Attersley PS | $1,419,225 |
| Harmony Heights PS | $2,649,485 |
| Hillsdale PS | $2,407,180 |
| Kedron PS | $1,173,770 |
| Lakewoods PS | $1,514,378 |
| Mary Street Community S | $1,629,041 |
| Maxwell Heights S.S. | $389,925 |
| O’Neill C & VI | $13,767,918 |
| Pierre Elliot Trudeau P.S. | $1,465,465 |
| Queen Elizabeth PS | $304,296 |
| R S Mclaughlin C & VI | $7,671,378 |
| Sherwood Public School | $175,480 |
| Stephen G Saywell PS | $1,062,171 |
| Sunset Heights PS | $2,403,858 |
| Village Union PS | $7,312,113 |
| Vincent Massey PS | $3,965,058 |
| Walter E Harris PS | $3,712,713 |
| Waverly PS | $4,792,526 |
| Woodcrest PS | $1,050,672 |
| ÉÉC CorpusChristi | $2,285,552 |
School conditions matter. They impact student learning, attendance, and health. Clearly, MPP French recognizes this fact, as do students and families in Oshawa. We ask that constituents in Oshawa work with MPP French to raise the important issue of school conditions and to urge our provincial government to please prioritize schools as critical infrastructure and take the steps necessary to ensure that the $15.9-billion of disrepair in all of Ontario’s publicly funded schools is eliminated and that schools are safe, healthy, well-maintained buildings that provide environments conducive to learning and working.