PM cites parents' worries, offers provinces $2B for school safety

Ont. rejects TDSB request to extend mask mandate Many Ontario school boards are still strongly recommending that students and teachers wear masks as mandates lift.

OTTAWA — The federal government is sending “up to” an additional $2 billion in to provinces and territories for them to cover the extra costs of ensuring that students will be safe when the fall school year begins, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Wednesday.

With schools preparing to welcome back students and return to in-class learning for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic was declared in March, parents across the country have been concerned about the level of infection control precautions school boards will have in place.

"While every year is different, this September will be unlike any you’ve had to deal with before. Parents and staff are anxious about what the school year will hold. As a dad, and a former teacher, I get that,” Trudeau said.

The prime minister made the announcement at a school in Toronto. The new funding is on top of the $19 billion “safe restart” plan, which is focused on helping provinces and territories reopen their societies safely.

The money is being sent through a new “Safe Return to Class Fund” in two instalments: a first portion this fall, and the second in “early 2021.” It will be distributed based on the number of students between ages of four and 18 in each region, and the decision to split the funding up is to “ensure that provinces and territories have support for the whole school year,” according to the Prime Minister’s Office.

On Wednesday, the prime minister made the announcement at a school in Toronto, alongside Minister of Families, Children and Social Development Ahmed Hussen, Deputy House Leader Kirsty Duncan, and Liberal MP Judy Sgro. The new funding is on top of the $19 billion “safe restart” plan, which is focused on helping provinces and territories reopen their societies safely.

Trudeau told the premiers about the incoming funding on Tuesday, as it will be up to them to determine how best to spend it, with some facing questions about the adequacy of school ventilation systems and ensuring there is enough hand sanitizer and staff on hand to keep classrooms clean.

Given education is largely a matter of provincial jurisdiction, Trudeau emphasized that the provinces will make decisions about school and student safety when classes resume. He defended the federal government’s involvement, denying wanting to appear as if the Trudeau Liberals were coming in at the eleventh hour to push provinces to do more.

“Over the past week or so, I've heard from so many Liberal MPs, so many parents across the country who are still extremely worried about how that reopening is going to go,” Trudeau said. “Now, we've seen the provinces put forward plans for that reopening. And you know, they are confident that they're doing what is necessary, but parents are still concerned. So we said, ‘Let's give the provinces even more resources to be able to do everything that is necessary to keep our kids safe.’”

The prime minister said that $112 million is also being sent to help schools in First Nations communities.

With just weeks left before students return to school, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh called on the federal government to provide this funding as soon as possible, so that the required safety enhancements can be put in place in time for the first day back.

“There is a real need to see dollars that are tied to schools being safer, and specifically what the healthcare experts and what the school experts are saying: classroom sizes. We need smaller custom sizes, and so the dollars for provinces should be connected to this requirement that actually go towards making schools safer,” Singh said.

People for Education Executive Director Annie Kidder said the funding is a first step, but it’s possible that more will need to be spent once the school year gets underway and outstanding gaps are identified.

“What's really important is that it's a message that this is understood as a national problem, that the federal government has to be involved in this,” Kidder said in an interview on CTV News Channel. “We're going to have to be flexible, kind of collaborate, be imaginative on what needs to happen, certainly for kids for example, who are learning online. We can't just rely on their families to support them. It's not sustainable, it's not equitable.”

Among the concerns that parents have expressed to CTV News are the lack of smaller class sizes, making physical distancing a challenge in some places, and how schools plan to handle confirmed cases of COVID-19.

Many parents are having to weigh these worries against the challenge of keeping their children home and continuing distance learning while balancing their own work and personal responsibilities.

“Our children must be safe in the classroom. That’s non-negotiable. No parent should be losing sleep because they have to go back to work, but aren’t confident schools are properly prepared,” said Trudeau. “Once people know their kids are safe, they can get back to work with less worries.”

Last week, Trudeau was asked if he would be sending his children back to school in September, and he said he hadn’t yet decided. Trudeau’s three children attend public school in Ontario.

“Like so many parents, that’s something that we are in very active discussions on,” he said. “We are looking at what the school’s plans are. We’re looking at class sizes. We’re looking at how the kids are feeling about wearing masks.”

Ottawa mom Rosalie Awad MacInnis and her husband have made the decision to send their two children back to school in September.

She said the move has brought a mix of excitement and anxiety, knowing that their two kids—going intro grades three and five—will be getting back a more structured routine and get to see their friends, but knowing things will be different.

“We're taking a bit of that risk, we feel like the school boards are doing as much as they can. We know it's not going to be perfect, but we're going to give it a try, prepare them as much as possible and you know if things change dramatically, if cases go up and we feel uncomfortable about it, or if they're really not doing well in the environment, we'll be ready to bring them back and try the virtual school,” she said.

The maximum funding each province and territory will receive is:

With files from CTV News’ Alexandra Mae Jones and Brooklyn Neustaeter