Category Archives: Fix Our Schools

If you believe your child’s school is in good shape…you may be surprised

November 9, 2015

Many parents we’ve spoken with over the past 18 months have said that their children’s school is in “pretty good shape” except for maybe needing a new coat of paint. Fix Our Schools wants to emphasize that much of the disrepair reflected in the $15-billion repair backlog in Ontario’s schools is invisible. Parents, teachers and students would have no way of knowing about much of the disrepair until there was a system failure. For instance, until classes are cancelled at a school because there is no heat, people would presume the boiler was in good shape.

The takeaway here is that just because the disrepair is invisible doesn’t mean that it won’t impact students and teachers at some point and definitely doesn’t mean that it can be deferred indefinitely! So, how is all of this disrepair calculated if much of it is invisible? Great question! Read on…

Over the past five years, Ontario’s Ministry of Education has engaged a company called VFA, a leading provider of facility assessment services, to assess the condition of Ontario’s approximately 4,900 public schools via a “Facility Condition Assessment’ (FCA).

An FCA involves a team of one or more specialists inspecting each system (mechanical, electrical, plumbing and architectural/structural elements) in a school building to understand its condition. The FCA team takes into account the remaining useful life of the system and also conducts a physical assessment of the school building. Unfortunately, this physical assessment is usually limited to a visual inspection and rarely involves any destructive or intrusive testing to make a better determination of the state of the building component. Therefore, an FCA team could visually inspect a school’s roof and deem it to be in good condition, and then the following week a major rain storm could prove that assessment incorrect when the roof starts to leak.

The FCA Team determines an estimated cost for each item of work that should be done on the school building’s system components (mechanical, electrical, plumbing and architectural/structural elements) and assigns each item of work a priority level: urgent, high, medium or low.

So, disrepair in public schools is based on these Facilities Condition Assessments conducted by VFA, a third party company engaged by the provincial government. Given the limitations of these assessments, the estimated $15-billion of disrepair in all 72 of Ontario’s publicly funded school boards may actually be quite conservative. Yet another reason why Kathleen Wynne’s provincial government must start to prioritize school buildings as important public infrastructure that must be repaired and rebuilt!

Feds should fund larger infrastructure projects – not curling rinks and hockey arenas!

November 3, 2015

A group of Canadian economists has concluded that the federal government would deliver more benefit to Canadians by investing in larger infrastructure projects rather than smaller projects, which include many extra administrative costs.

A series of three research papers on federal infrastructure funding was released November 2, 2015 by the University of Calgary’s school of public policy. “Striking the Right Balance: Federal Infrastructure Transfer Programs, 2002-2015” by Bev Dahlby and Emily Jackson provides the insight above and states that, “by providing more in the form of block grants, Ottawa can leave smaller stuff to smaller governments, where it, and much else, properly belongs”.

So, while it is tempting for a federal government seeking favour from voters to dole out small infrastructure projects like curling rinks and hockey arenas to many communities across the country, the wiser investment would be larger infrastructure projects – like transit, roads and rebuilding our schools!

Let’s hope Prime Minister Trudeau and his new cabinet are paying attention!

Ontario must fix more schools… and do it faster

October 28, 2015

Kathleen Wynne predicts progress on infrastructure in Ontario based on the federal election results. “Now that we have a federal partner with the same priority, we can do more and we can do it faster.”

We want to ensure that Premier Wynne includes public school buildings on Ontario’s list of infrastructure priorities. Some of the new federal infrastructure money slated to flow to provincial coffers must go towards addressing the $15-billion of disrepair that currently exists in our province’s public schools.

To this end, Fix Our Schools sent this_letter:

Letter sent to Premier Wynne & All Ontario MPPs on October 27, 2015

All 72 school boards in Ontario have a capital repair backlog, for a total of $15-billion of disrepair in our province’s public schools.

The 2-million students who attend Ontario public schools deserve better – as do the countless children who attend childcare/early learning programs in these same schools; the adults who work every day in these buildings; and the community members who rely upon these buildings as important community hubs.

On October 19, Canadians voted for change. We gave the Federal Liberals a mandate to deliver on their promise to increase investment in infrastructure – even if this means running a deficit. In reaction to the majority win by the Federal Liberals, Premier Wynne said:

“Now that we have a federal partner with the same priority, we can do more and we can do it faster.”

Fix Our Schools agrees with this comment by Premier Wynne. We hope her sentiment will be applied to addressing the $15-billion of disrepair in our province’s school infrastructure. The $11-billion in capital grants to school boards over 10 years is simply insufficient. More public schools in this province must be repaired and rebuilt – and we must do it faster.

So, as those with power over the funding of public schools in this province:

How much of the federal infrastructure money that is expected to flow to provincial coffers from our new Liberal Federal Government will you commit to repairing and rebuilding Ontario’s public schools?

Public schools are a key component of our society’s infrastructure – and must be funded as such. We look forward to hearing back from you with an answer to our question.

Kind regards,

Krista Wylie – Co-Founder, Fix Our Schools Campaign

Timing not right for austerity

October 26, 2015

The Liberal Party of Canada’s economic platform included running a deficit budget for three years to increase investment in infrastructure. Given the election results, Canadians agree that stimulating our sluggish economy by investing in infrastructure while interest rates are so low makes sense.

On October 23, Globe & Mail’s Eric Reguly published a column entitled,”Justin Trudeau understands that timing is crucial to austerity.” In this column, Reguly agrees with the Liberals that timing is right to steer clear of the austerity economic policies proposed by both the NDP and Conservatives in the recent federal election. Reguly points to several Canadian economists who also agree that timing is right to run a deficit budget to stimulate our economy.

What does this mean for the economic policies of our provincial Liberal Party? Will Kathleen Wynne follow Justin Trudeau’s lead and consider increasing investment in infrastructure – even if that means straying from the objective of balancing Ontario’s budget by 2017-18? Likely not, given that our provincial government has already been running deficit budgets while the federal government posted a surplus budget this year. So perhaps, we are comparing apples to oranges here. But dare to dream for increased infrastructure investment in Ontario and with that, increased spending on repairing and rebuilding Ontario’s public schools, a critical part of our society’s infrastructure!

Canadians have spoken

October 20, 2015

Canadians have spoken. The election of Justin Trudeau’s Liberals can be interpreted in many ways but clearly Canadians voted for change.

One significant change that the Liberals promised to voters was an increase in infrastructure spending – even if infrastructure investment meant running a deficit. This element of their economic platform differentiated the Liberals from the Conservatives and NDPs.

So, the election of a majority Liberal government has to be interpreted, at least partially, as Canadian’s endorsement of the Liberal economic policy to invest in our public infrastructure.

Given that public schools are a key component of our society’s infrastructure, it is worth noting that in Ontario public schools, there is currently a $15-billion repair backlog. Other provinces such as B.C., Alberta, and Quebec also face repair backlogs in their public schools. This situation across our country is unacceptable and untenable. Some of the federal infrastructure funding promised by our new Liberal government has to find its way to provincial coffers and be used to fix our schools.

8-minute documentary contrasting public vs. private schools

October 17, 2015

This 8-minute documentary was produced by the Campaign for Public Education. It highlights the disparity between public and private schools along Mount Pleasant Rd. in Toronto. It drives home the point that all children deserve to learn in safe, well-maintained buildings (not sure two salt-water pools and a yoga studio in every school are absolutely necessary – but surely roofs that don’t leak and a comfortable year-round temperature for learning is a base requirement for public schools?). It also questions how donations to rebuild a private school can be tax-deductible… have a watch!

CBC looks at federal government’s role in addressing infrastructure issue

October 13, 2015

On Sunday, October 11, 2015, CBC’s Michael Enright considered the role our federal government ought to play in addressing issues such as poor transit and collapsing infrastructure that pose real challenges for Canadian cities. Mr. Enright cited that Canadian cities currently face a $123-billion infrastructure deficit. We have sent in a question clarifying if this number includes disrepair in our public schools.

Given the pivotal role that public schools play in urban communities across the country, we believe that disrepair in these buildings certainly ought to be included in any infrastructure deficit calculations!

Click here to listen to the complete 30-minute segment of “The Sunday Edition”, where Michael Enright speaks with the following guests to explore this complex issue:

Don Iveson, one of the youngest mayors of a big Canadian city. He has been the mayor of Edmonton for two years and is a member of the Big City Mayors’ Caucus.

Jill Grant, Professor in the School of Planning at Dalhousie University in Halifax and has authored and edited many books and research papers on urban planning. Her focus is the rise of suburbs.

Ken Greenberg, an internationally renowned architect, writer and urban designer. He is the author of Walking Home: The Life and Lessons of a City Builder.

How the NDPs responded to our letter

October 12, 2015

On September 16, we sent a letter to all Conservative, Green, Liberal and NDP federal candidates in Ontario, asking them:

“How much federal infrastructure money would your party invest in repairing and rebuilding Canadian public school buildings – a critical part of our country’s infrastructure?”

As of October 19, we’ve heard back from seventeen NDP Party candidates and their responses consistently included the following:

“For decades the federal government has been downloading costs for infrastructure and social programs onto the backs of provinces and municipalities and this is having a direct impact on the state of disrepair in Canadian schools. After years of federal neglect, too many municipalities are struggling with a massive infrastructure gap over $172 billion as well. A lack of federal funding in core infrastructure is preventing provinces from being able to make the necessary repairs needed for schools in our communities.

The NDP will build and repair local infrastructure by increasing the direct transfers to municipalities through the existing Gas Tax Fund by an additional $1.5 billion annually by the end of our first mandate. This means that that other jurisdictions will be better able to manage their education infrastructure to provide our children with a healthy, safe environment for learning. The NDP’s plan will invest fairly in every Canadian community for their priorities, and will help growing meet their long-term infrastructure needs. It provides the most stable, predictable, efficient and transparent way to invest in the priorities of our communities.

We are particularly concerned by the potential for seismic activity in British Columbia which would have devastating impacts on children in schools that are ill-equipped to withstand a significant earthquake. That’s why the NDP has committed to invest $400 million more specifically for disaster mitigation infrastructure. We would ensure that schools in need of repairs for any type of natural disaster, including earthquakes, would be eligible to apply for this funding and other funding within the federal government’s New Building Canada Fund.

Together, we can stop the downloading of costs to provinces, municipalities and school boards and ensure that our children can learn in a safe and healthy environment.”

Several candidates took the time to personalize the opening to their response and this one showed a deep and personal understanding of the issue:

“In my line of work, I visit over 100 schools throughout the year. Whether it’s unbearable heat on the third floor during a heat wave in June, or broken elevators, or other needed repairs, I’ve seen it all….and have worked through conditions that not only made it difficult to teach, but nearly impossible to learn.”

How the Liberals responded to our letter

October 12, 2015

On September 16, we sent a letter to all Conservative, Green, Liberal and NDP federal candidates in Ontario, asking them:

“How much federal infrastructure money would your party invest in repairing and rebuilding Canadian public school buildings – a critical part of our country’s infrastructure?”

As of October 19, we’ve heard back from 23 Liberal Party candidates and also received a formal letter from Anna Gainey, President of the Liberal Party of Canada. All candidates referred to the following points from Ms. Gainey’s letter in their responses:

“Liberals understand that our kids need positive and enriching environments in order to learn and grow.

We also recognize that responsibility for education belongs to the provinces, and the Liberal Party of Canada respects that division of power. Yet there are areas in which the federal government can play a role.

The best investments we can make are those that generate economic growth and provide immediate and long-term social gain. As you have identified, as part of our historic investment in infrastructure, a Liberal government will provide a new, dedicated funding envelope for social infrastructure. We will boost investment in social infrastructure by nearly $6 billion over the next four years, and almost $20 billion over ten years.

As part of our plan, we will develop bilateral agreements with the provinces and territories. We will not only significantly increase the scale of federal infrastructure investment; our plan will provide provinces, territories, and municipalities with an unprecedented level of long-term predict ability in funding, as well. This will be done in full respect of provincial jurisdiction so that provinces can prioritize their infrastructure needs – and yes, these needs could include investment in school buildings.”

How the Greens responded to our letter

October 9, 2015

On September 16, we sent a letter to all Conservative, Green, Liberal and NDP federal candidates in Ontario, asking them:

“How much federal infrastructure money would your party invest in repairing and rebuilding Canadian public school buildings – a critical part of our country’s infrastructure?”

As of October 19, we’ve heard back from seventeen Green Party candidates and most responses included elements of the following from the Green Party platform:

“The gap between the infrastructure funding our cities and towns need, and the funding they receive, is reaching crisis levels. Canada’s infrastructure deficit is estimated to be upwards of $350-billion. We will work to close this gap by committing $6.4 billion per year, one point of the GST, to municipal infrastructure, providing stable, long-term funding to Canadian municipalities, creating good local jobs, and building vibrant, safe, and livable Canadian towns and cities. We will unleash an army of carpenters, electricians and contractors to take outdated and leaky public buildings, especially schools, universities and hospitals.

In light of the enormous and growing infrastructure deficit, the Green Party also proposes the creation of an Infrastructure Bank – an iBank owned by Canadians – that leverages the ability of the federal government to provide provinces and municipalities with the funds they require at the lowest possible cost while offering private investors opportunities for profitable long-term investments. This would certainly be a potential source of funding for repairing and rebuilding schools.”