Tag Archives: 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.

A small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world…

September 23, 2015

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

With the federal election underway, we have an opportunity to raise the issue of disrepair in Canadian public schools. Please take advantage of this opportunity. Speak to your local candidates and write them a letter urging them to invest in public schools as a critical element of our society’s infrastructure.

As proof of the famous Margaret Mead quote above, we wanted to share a story from early on in the Fix Our Schools campaign during the Spring 2014 Ontario provincial election…

At that time, we had not yet formally launched Fix Our Schools and the campaign only consisted of six parents who all lived in the Parkdale-High Park provincial riding. All six of us agreed that we would ask our local candidates and their canvassers about disrepair in our neighbourhood public schools.

We were pleasantly surprised when, a couple of weeks later, campaign flyers from these candidates were delivered to households and on those flyers, we saw the issue of disrepair in public schools was listed. There, in black and white, was proof that a few thoughtful, committed citizens talking about an issue could bring that issue to the forefront.

Our only regret was that we hadn’t started the Fix Our Schools campaign a year or two earlier so we would have been more organized and had a larger impact! Guess we’ll have to be patient and wait until the next provincial election…

In the meantime, we have a federal election underway and an opportunity for thoughtful, committed citizens to ask their local federal candidates about investing in schools as critical public infrastructure. As a thoughtful, committed citizen, please take advantage of this opportunity!

Letter to all federal parties: What will you invest in repairing & rebuilding Canadian public schools?

September 14, 2015

Fix Our Schools is sending the following letter to the Green, Liberal, NDP, and PC Parties of Canada; and to all Ontario federal candidates. Print it out to review with any federal canvassers that come knocking on your door or take it with you to a federal candidates debate.

To: The Green, Liberal, NDP and Conservative Parties of Canada

My son wore his winter coat at school this past winter because his classroom was twelve degrees Celsius.

Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident of disrepair in Canadian public schools:

In Vancouver, schools need approximately $1-billion of seismic upgrades to prevent collapse in case of earthquakes; and across British Columbia there are hundreds of millions of dollars in outstanding maintenance in public schools.
In Ontario, all 72 public school boards have repair backlogs, for a total of over $15-billion of outstanding repairs – many of which are deemed “urgent” by the Province.
In Montreal, almost 40% of the 226 schools in one board were recently deemed to be in either an “excessive [or] advanced state of decay”.
In New Brunswick, two public schools had to be closed in 2010 because they were unsafe, forcing that provincial government to invest more in school buildings.

The 5-million children who attend Canadian public schools deserve better – as do the countless Canadian children who attend childcare programs in these same schools. Voters across the country consider their local public schools to be community hubs, and expect these buildings to be safe, well-maintained, and funded as critical social infrastructure.

Federal infrastructure money has been used for hockey arenas, curling rinks and gazebos. Surely, Canadians would agree that federal investment in school buildings is equally important? So, our question to the Federal parties is this:

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?

Kind regards,

Krista Wylie – Co-Founder, Fix Our Schools

www.fixourschools.ca: grassroots, non-partisan advocates for safe, well-maintained schools

If you don’t ask, you don’t get

August 6, 2015

Right up until the writ dropped this past Sunday, Stephen Harper was doling out money to entice Canada’s electorate, including $150-million for improving public infrastructure such as arenas, parks and community centres through the Canada 150 Infrastructure Program. Now in campaign mode, he made his first big-ticket promise this week – a home renovation tax credit that would cost an estimated $1.5-billion/year by providing a 15% tax credit to homeowners for any renovations worth between $1,000 and $5,000.

We, the voters, must ensure that our elected politicians at every level of government prioritize spending to align with our values. In a nutshell, we must ask for what we want.

As a Canadian, you very likely value quality public eduction – and its associated societal and economic benefits. Certainly, if politicians asked, you would tell them that you want to see public schools in a state of good repair for the 5-million Canadian children who spend 6-hours/day in these buildings.

Unfortunately, the sad reality is that public schools across this country are crumbling. While there are examples of state-of-the-art public schools, an unacceptable number of public schools across the country need massive repairs. In Ontario schools alone, there are $15-billion of outstanding repairs and in Vancouver, public schools need approximately $1-billion of seismic upgrades to ensure they are safe in case of earthquakes, and there are hundreds of millions of dollars in outstanding maintenance in public schools across British Columbia

So, as this federal election unfolds and you have an opportunity to speak with candidates, let them know you consider public schools to be a critical element of our societal infrastructure – certainly on par with arenas, community centres and parks but also on par with transit, roads and healthcare. Let federal candidates know that you want money to be spent on repairing and rebuilding Canada’s public schools. We know that traditionally in Canada, the Federal government hasn’t provided any funding for building or repairing public schools. However, since it seems there is money in the Federal coffers these days, if you value public schools – now is the right time to ask. If you don’t ask – you don’t get!

How to successfully meet Ontario’s infrastructure needs?

July 20, 2015

Barry Steinberg is CEO of the Consulting Engineers of Ontario, which represents the interests of 200 engineering firms. He offered the following insight about how Ontario can successfully meet our future infrastructure needs in a recent Globe & Mail editorial:

“Successfully meeting Ontario’s infrastructure needs will only happen as a result of sound planning supported by consistent investment from dedicated revenue streams, not on a project-to-project basis.”

Feds fund public infrastructure – are public schools included?

May 25, 2015

“Curling rinks, arenas, walking trails and bike routes, theatres and community halls in small towns and big cities alike, these are places where people come together. They are literally the beating hearts of the communities we live in.”

Stephen Harper’s quote above suggests how the new Canada 150 infrastructure plan might be spent to benefit Canadians. Earlier this month, Harper announced that $150-million will be spent over the coming two years to support existing community and cultural infrastructure across the country as one way of marking Canada’s 150th anniversary of Confederation.

Public schools across the country are in a state of disrepair and surely also serve as the “beating hearts of the communities we live in”. Yet public schools are notably absent in any lists of potential projects that could be approved for this Canada 150 infrastructure plan.

Hmmm…those who see this infrastructure spend as merely a pre-election PR tactic might say that public school children aren’t voters yet so why would the Feds bother spending money on them leading up to the Fall election?