Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound MPP Bill Walker says he was disappointed with the Premier's and Education Minister's did not meet with concerned parents and students from rural Ontario who made a long journey when they organized a protest at the Legislature earlier today.MPP Walker and his caucus colleagues voiced their concerns over the accommodation review guidelines in today's Question Period, and called on the Premier and Education Minister to put in a moratorium on school closures until the guidelines are fixed.
"The new accommodation guidelines don't work. They are responsible for potentially closing one in eight schools – that's 600 schools - across Ontario," MPP Walker says. "Frankly, we in rural Ontario need schools to survive. Everyone needs them to survive," he says. "Schools are a community's cultural asset, they drive local economies. Closing them removes recreational space, it eliminates opportunities for all - from working parents to vulnerable populations. No one really wins when a school closes."
"The Liberals need to stand with the people and be part of a solution," MPP Walker concludes. "A moratorium and review of the arbitrary guidelines is a step in that direction."
