Andrea Horwath meets with educators in Kingston to talk funding cuts

On her way from Peterborough to Ottawa on a health care tour, provincial opposition leader Andrea Horwath stopped in Kingston to talk education.

In a closed-door meeting, she met with elementary and secondary school educators to talk about the impact provincial funding cuts are having.

Horwath says the conversations she had were disturbing and worrisome.

“First and foremost, those teachers are so emotionally connected to their students and they’re so worried about the impact these cuts are going to have on their kids,” she said.  “They call them their kids.”

The NDP leader says the cuts will have long-lasting effects that will be felt more as time passes.

“It’s very wrong-headed. It’s not only going to impact our kids and their ability to succeed, it’s also going to impact our economy and the ability of the business community to recruit highly skilled, highly trained workers in the future.”

Horwath is predicting a very different start to the 2019-20 school year with the program and staffing cuts coming into effect under the Ford government.

“When the September school year starts is when families are going to see the real impacts of these cuts. It’s going to mean less caring adults that are there to meet the needs of children,” she said.

With alcohol now approved in parks, Horwath says the Ford government seems to be prioritizing access to alcohol over education and health care.