Too little too late! Canada’s Federal Government gives $ 2 billion to help Canadian’s Schools

BY PAUL JUNOR

It was a surprise to many when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Wednesday, August 26th, 2020 that the federal government will be donating $2 billion towards the provinces and territories. This “Safe Return to Class” fund is intended to help schools across Canada open safety.

As education is a provincial jurisdiction, the federal government has left it up to the province to decide how to use the much-needed funds. It will be dispersed based on student, with a $2 million base amount for each jurisdiction.

This extra funding is intended to alleviate the financial stress on school boards and to, “Implement measures to protect students and staff from COVID-19. The money can be used to: help adapt learning spaces, improve air ventilation, increase hand sanitation and hygiene, buy extra protective equipment (PPE) and cleaning supplies.”

This announcement was positively received by Premier Doug Ford and the Minister of Education, Stephen Leece who stated on Wednesday, August 26th, 2020, “Today’s investment by the federal government complements the already landmark investment made by our government in support of safe and healthy schools in Ontario.” It will get $381 million in the fall and $382 million next year. This funding is on top of the $900 million that has been given to school boards but it falls short of the $3 billion that teachers’ unions requested that is needed to safely reopen schools in September.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in his press release stated, “When we realized, when we saw the level of anxiety and preoccupation that parents across the country still had, even with those plans in place, we realized that we could give the provinces even more resources.” Many have asked why it took the federal government so long to respond, considering that there has been much concern about Ontario’s back-to-school plan by parents/guardians and teachers.

Conservative MP, Karen Vecchio in a statement expressed concerns about the timing and wrote,

“The fact that Justin Trudeau only told the provinces about this money days ago shows that he is more interested in putting on a show than working with provinces to help students safely return to school. With schools resuming in less than two weeks, provinces’ back-to-school plans are already well under way. Justin Trudeau has been wrong or slow to act throughout this pandemic, and his failures have cost Canadians.”

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh observes, “There is a need to see dollars that are tied to schools being safer, and specifically what the health care experts and what the school experts are saying. We need smaller classroom sizes.”

Leah Nord of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce states, “For working mothers everywhere whose children will be returning to the classroom as of next week, today’s announcement provides additional assurance that sending their children back to school is the right decision. This funding is critical to helping women fully participate in the workforce and especially so amid the economic recovery.”

The Minister of Education has allocated $200 million of the $381 million towards its school implementation plan and $70 million towards student transportation. The teachers’ unions hoped that it would have used some of it to hire more teachers to help reduce class sizes, but school boards will have to tap into their reserve funds.

$12.5 million will be: for hiring more staff, for mental health support for students, and125 extra nursing positions for public health units.