Interview With Ontario Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca

Friday, 7 August 2020 11:42

Ontario Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca says the Ontario Back to School plan doesn't do enough to protect students and staff heading back to class this September.

ONTARIO - The Leader of the Ontario Liberal Party Steven Del Duca called into Heart FM this morning.

Last week the Liberal Party released a costed plan to send kids back to school in September. It would cost $3.2 Billion dollars and include the following:

- 15,000 More Elementary Teachers to reduce class size to 15 $1.30 billion
- 10,000 More Caretakers to keep elementary and secondary schools clean $500 million
- 14,000 New Classrooms in Community Centres, Campuses, Arenas, etc. $200 million
- 2,000 More Secondary Teachers $170 million
- School Transportation (Cleaning, Retrofits, Staggered Starts) $80 million
- Sufficient Cleaning/Hygiene Supplies and Equipment $120 million
- 1,500 Special Education Professionals to Help Close Learning Gaps $120 million
- New equipment for students and educators (approx. 400,000 new devices) $200 million
- Reverse PC Cuts to School Mental Health and hire 1,000 more Mental Health Professionals to support staff and students $75 million
- Provincial Leadership in Centrally Procuring and Purchasing Personal Protective
Equipment for Students and Staff (e.g., face shields, masks, gloves) $110 million
- Support Parental Engagement and Communication $25 million
- Public Health Coordination of Screening, Testing and Contact Tracing N/A
- Contingency (10%) $290 million

In London (TVDSB & LDCSB) this would mean:

- 820 new classroom locations in community centres, campuses, arenas, etc.
- 860 additional educators to reduce class sizes
- 440 additional caretakers to keep schools and school buses clean

In the interview with Heart FM, Del Duca talks about his plan and compares it to Doug Ford's. He says Ford is treating our kids like an afterthought. You can listen to the interview below: