Liam Casey, Canadian Press Published Wednesday, May 4, 2022, 9:25 AM EDT Last updated: Wednesday, May 4, 2022, 9:25 AM EDT
TORONTO – The Ontario Liberal government will spend $ 10 billion on building and renovating schools if elected in June, with the party vowing to fund the pledge by canceling the planned 413 highway.
Liberal leader Stephen Del Duca said that while traveling in the countryside for the past two years, he had heard from teachers and families about schools in poor condition.
“I’ve heard stories of schools in this province of ours where classroom windows don’t open and close properly, where ventilation systems are so outdated it’s uncomfortable, where there’s no relief in the scorching heat, when there’s no relief in the bitter cold,” he said. he announced the plan on Wednesday when the election campaign began.
The Liberals say their plan for metropolitan schools will build another 200 schools, renovate, upgrade and rebuild another 4,500 and make repairs to provide new ventilation systems in every school that needs them.
The party said it would allocate $ 10 billion to be spent in five or six years, in addition to the $ 14 billion in 10 years already budgeted.
Progressive conservatives seeking re-election have not provided an overall estimate of the cost of the planned Highway 413 around the Greater Toronto area, but Liberals oppose it, saying it will destroy farmland and save a lot of time for travelers. Independent estimates put the price at up to $ 10 billion.
In recent years, the backlog of school renovations has been about $ 16 billion, a figure the NDP has largely blamed on previous liberal governments.
“Whatever the Liberals say now, they had 15 years to turn to our crumbling schools and they didn’t,” said NDP leader Andrea Horvat.
“They left this province with $ 15.9 billion in failed school renovations, so I don’t know how anyone can trust what they say now that for 15 years they haven’t given priority to … the quality of repairs. of schools for our children. ”
Liberals have closed hundreds of schools, said Horvath and progressive Conservative leader Doug Ford.
“The backlog of repairs … has tripled among the Liberals,” Ford said. “All he does is talk and talk, he wants to set up all these commissions and studies. We are building new schools for $ 14 billion. We are catching up with the good condition of the repairs. “
Del Duca said that if the Liberals formed a government after the election, “we will not close any schools.”
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