Ever since the Fix Our Schools campaign began in 2014, we have operated in a non-partisan manner, recognizing that the goal of safe, healthy, well-maintained schools is a non-partisan issue. Whether we spoke to a 78-year old white man who lived in rural Ontario and had always voted conservative, or whether we spoke to a 23-year old Black woman who lived in downtown Toronto and voted NDP, the consistent and unanimous response to stories of disrepair in schools, or substandard learning conditions was simple:
We need to fix our schools
To fix our schools requires money and, in Ontario, the only money that can be used to fix schools comes from our provincial government.
Did you know that in #Ontario, property taxes do NOT go to YOUR school board? Regardless of the box you've checked off on your taxes, they support ALL FOUR publicly funded boards: secular English & French, Catholic Eng & Fre. Education funding is fully controlled by the Province. pic.twitter.com/8kpgu6qkoC
— Fix Our Schools (@Fix_Our_Schools) February 2, 2019
Based on recent reports, we know that Premier Ford’s government is sitting on over $6-billion of unspent federal pandemic funding, so our provincial government has unallocated money literally sitting in its coffers. Based on recent reports, we also know that Premier Ford’s government ignored the recommendations of SickKids, medical professionals, public health professionals, education professionals, and, indeed, it ignored the recommendations of civil servants within the Ministry of Education when this government implemented only “half-measures” to ensure the safety of students and education workers in the classroom amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
We are all paying the price for the Premier’s “watered down’ strategies to combat Covid. I’m calling on Ford to implement a safe workplace plan that includes schools and LTC. He can start with aggressive rapid testing and paid sick days. #onpoli https://t.co/u0YofnQOo6
— Mike Schreiner (@MikeSchreiner) January 21, 2021
These are the facts.
So, why is our provincial government politicizing the issue of safe, healthy, well-maintained schools in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic? Is it political to want well-ventilated classrooms? Is it political to want children and adults in schools to be able to readily wash their hands? Is it political to want classrooms where students can readily practice the physical distancing that is a tenet of every single COVID public health message?
The NDP, Liberal, and Green parties all agree on what needs to be done for children and adults to be safe in schools: low community spread, proper ventilation in classrooms, quality PPE, room to practice physical distancing, adequate nurses and custodians, and testing in schools. It is the 11th month of the pandemic, and we still await these measures. These MPP’s represent 57.76% of Ontarians. Why doesn’t Premier Ford listen to hundreds of medical experts, all of the other parties, and a good portion of voters?
There is a pattern of public health experts, doctors & scientists critical of the Ford govt undermined or harassed for expressing their professional opinion.
Ford has ignored public health experts — including those recommending paid sick days, more LTC staff, & class size caps.— Andrea Horwath (@AndreaHorwath) January 27, 2021
What are we to make of a government using distractions to avoid spending money for the safety of its citizens? The Ford government could choose to listen to students, parents, teachers, health professionals, and its own Ministry staff, but instead, saves the desperately needed funds for some unspecified future date.
We all agree, kids learn best in class. But we also agree that kids need to be safe.
Schools need:
✅ Proper ventilation
✅ Reduced class sizes
✅ More PPE
✅ Province-wide asymptomatic testing
✅ Use of rapid tests@Fordnation is this too much to ask? pic.twitter.com/scgCFMBg64— Mike Schreiner (@MikeSchreiner) January 29, 2021
Do you agree with Fix Our Schools that the goal of safe, healthy, well-maintained schools, especially in the midst of a pandemic, is a non-partisan one? If this is a non-partisan goal, and there is money in the bank, then what on earth is stopping the Ford government from spending money to get Ontario’s students back in classrooms safely?