Make Schools a Priority in the Provincial Election

March 22, 2022

A provincial election is fast approaching in Ontario, and parties are gearing up. In the coming weeks, we will see a lot of announcements and media coverage, with each party trying to convince us that they are best positioned to govern our province for the coming four years.

As citizens with the power to vote, we must also gear up for the upcoming provincial election. We need to give serious thought to the issues that really matter to us and ensure that those issues are discussed during the election campaign; and that they are included in party platforms as priorities.

Fix Our Schools wants to see a provincial government committed to publicly funded schools and education. Specifically, we are seeking a provincial government that will commit to:

  1. Developing and implementing a provincial standard of good repair for school buildings, portables, and schoolyards that includes not only addressing the $16.8-billion repair backlog but also issues such as: indoor air quality and ventilation; classroom temperatures; water quality; accessibility; environmental efficiency and durability; cleanliness; and asbestos.
  2. Collecting data on all aspects of school infrastructure and comparing that data regularly to the standards in place to ensure these provincial standards are actually being met/exceeded.
  3. Providing adequate, stable provincial funding to ensure that the $16.8-billion repair backlog is eliminated in the coming 5-10 years; and to ensure that the provincial standards are met/exceeded for indoor air quality and ventilation; classroom temperatures; water quality; accessibility; environmental efficiency and durability; cleanliness; and asbestos.

At Fix Our Schools, we believe that:

  • School conditions matter. Taking care of the capital assets we call public schools makes good financial sense, and has also been shown to improve the health, learning, attendance and performance of the learners and workers who spend their days at school. 
  • You can influence the issues that get discussed and prioritized during the upcoming election campaign and that become priorities for the next provincial government.

Here are some actions you can take and questions/messages you can send in the coming months to make it easy for you to have an impact!

Ideas for Action

  • Find out who all your local candidates are by visiting the following links: Green Candidates; Liberal candidates; NDP candidates; PC Candidates
  • Contact all your local candidates via email or phone call to ask questions and let them know that public schools are a priority for you
  • Keep a list of questions for candidates near your front door so anyone in your household can easily ask questions when candidates are door-to-door campaigning
  • Attend local debates and submit questions/ask questions
  • Engage with Fix Our Schools on Twitter and Facebook to amplify our messages and make schools a priority issue

Questions to Ask/Messages to Send to All Candidates

  • Public schools matter to me. I believe that safe, healthy, well-maintained schools, portables and schoolyards are essential. And yet, successive provincial governments have allowed a $16.8-billion repair backlog to accumulate in Ontario’s schools. Our provincial government is responsible for providing adequate funding for schools and disrepair in Ontario’s schools has increased every single year, so I ask you:
  1. What will you do to ensure that every publicly-funded school, portable and schoolyard is safe, healthy, well-maintained and provides an environment conducive to learning and working?
  2. How will you ensure that a standard of good repair for Ontario’s public school infrastructure is developed and implemented? What do you think ought to be included in those standards and what data ought to be collected to ensure these standards are met?
  3. Current provincial funding has meant that disrepair has grown year over year in Ontario’s publicly funded schools and, therefore, has clearly been inadequate for over two decades. The Fix Our Schools campaign believes that an absolute minimum additional yearly investment in school infrastructure of $1.6-B/year is needed – ON TOP of current provincial funding. If elected, would you support this additional annual investment in school infrastructure?

You have the power to make a difference in the coming election. We often hear from people who are nervous about speaking with candidates about their concerns because they are not an “expert” in the subject. We want to assure you that you do not have to be an expert in a topic to bring it up as a concern or priority of yours!

Your local MPP candidates are looking for your vote so you have a lot of power in the coming weeks leading up to the provincial election. And your elected MPP works for you so they should actually be the ones that are nervous about providing you with all the answers you are seeking!

You really do have power to make change!  So in the weeks leading up to the provincial election, take the opportunity to use this power wisely!