NDP: Crisis in GTA schools should be a wake-up call for Ford’s Conservatives

QUEEN’S PARK – Bhutila Karpoche (Parkdale – High Park), the Official Opposition critic for GTA Issues has released the following statement regarding media reports of staffing shortages in schools across the Greater Toronto Area:

“The crisis in GTA schools did not happen overnight. The Ontario NDP has consistently sounded the alarm on Ford’s Conservatives ignoring the root causes of the staffing crisis in our schools: the government has slashed the investments required to recruit, retain and support teachers and education workers.

Since coming into power, this government has fought education workers instead of ensuring students have the support they need. Now, we have a system that is on the brink, staffing shortages that are forcing teachers to work additional roles, leaving students, especially those with complex needs, without adequate support.

This should be a wake-up call for Ford’s Conservatives. They can choose to fix this, instead of sitting on billions of dollars of contingency funds while our public schools suffer.”