August 8th, 2016

Statement by Ontario NDP Leader on Provincial and Demonstration School Announcement

Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath issued the following statement in response to the government announcement about Provincial and Demonstration schools.

“When Kathleen Wynne and the Liberals announced they were freezing enrollment to Provincial schools for the deaf and hard of hearing,as well as Demonstration Schools for students with severe learning disabilities,it threw families into chaos. Sadly this wasn’t the first time that Kathleen Wynne thought she could get away with cutting services for the most vulnerable Ontarians. Earlier this year, Kathleen Wynne pushed ahead with increases to seniors’ drug costs and cuts to autism services. New Democrats worked together with concerned Ontarians to stop these cuts. 

The fact that the Premier is backtracking on her short-sighted plan to close Provincial and Demonstration schools is good news for students and their parents. Once again it’s through the hard work and advocacy of families that the government has been forced to change their position. New Democrats are proud to stand with Provincial and Demonstration school families.

Kathleen Wynne must now commit to keeping these schools open in the long term to put parents' minds at ease and she must stop further cuts to special education funding across the province.”