In Canada, we take for granted that our infrastructure is first-rate. Our hospitals are well maintained with state of the art of technology. But the schools where our children learn are often in a poor state of repair.

Our hospitals have state-of-the-art technology and are very well maintained. When hospitals need to build a new wing, they use their charitable foundations to fundraise for it. Easy. Just look at the success of the Full House Lottery and Children’s Hospital Lottery in Alberta. Consider Hometown Heroes Lottery in B.C, Cancer Care Manitoba Foundation, or the Princess Margaret Home Lottery in Ontario. These lotteries are all run by marketing professionals and spend millions of dollars each year on advertising.

Meanwhile, our schools are falling apart across the country. This spring, the Edmonton Public School Board announced they require $812 Million to complete repairs in their schools. This figure is rising by $85,000 EACH DAY and is projected to pass $1 Billion by 2027! In Toronto, The Toronto District School Board needs more than $3.3 Billion to complete their required repairs. The total repairs required for Ontario is $16 Billion dollars according to the Ontario Ministry of Education.

Millions of children and education professionals go to schools every day that are not being properly maintained. This is not simply a choice about how much it will cost for our children to be comfortable when they are at school. Choosing to not complete these repairs is costlier to taxpayers.

In your home, if the roof leaks, you call a roofer. And if the roofer tells you your roof is forty years old, and you can repair the many holes for slightly less than the cost to replace the entire roof, you make the logical financial decision to replace the entire roof. But our schools often don’t have the money to make this smart choice and choose the costlier strategy of repairing the leaky part, knowing full well the cost for taxpayers, in the long run, will be higher. 

With the current COVID pandemic causing thousands of Canadians to lose their jobs, it is clear our economy needs stimulus.

Our provincial governments can’t see that now is the time to stimulate the economy! Now is the time to invest in our schools! Now is the time to fix our schools!

Ken Lister lives in Edmonton and is a former TDSB School Trustee

Photo Credit – Fixourschools.ca