NDP fights fine for student chalk-drawings

QUEEN’S PARK — NDP House Leader Gilles Bisson released the following statement in response to reports that high-school students were billed about $1,500 for the clean-up of sidewalk chalk after a peaceful protest at Queen’s Park:

“It’s wrong to punish students who are speaking up for themselves and their future by speaking out against Doug Ford’s education cuts. The NDP is calling for the $1,500 sidewalk chalk clean up bill sent to high school students to be cancelled, and today we’re reaching out to the Speaker’s office to make that demand.

Spending $1,500 to do what rain or a hose could have taken care of in a few minutes is a waste. Sending that bill to students who were peacefully protesting is callous.

The crackdowns on peaceful protests need to stop. Doug Ford has attacked anyone who disagrees with him — like students and teachers. We’ve seen Ford’s MPPs call the police on seniors’ book clubs. We’ve even seen seniors — grandmas and grandpas — hauled out of the legislature’s public galleries in handcuffs.

Ontarians who are standing up to Ford’s callous cuts deserve to be heard, not punished."