Ontario Liberals pledge to cancel Highway 413, spend $10 billion on schools
An Ontario Liberal government would spend $10 billion to build and repair schools if elected in June, with the party pledging to fund the promise by cancelling the planned Highway 413.
Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca attempted to paint the Progressive Conservatives as harming public education.
"We saw the undermining and the underfunding of publicly funded education by Doug Ford and the conservatives before the pandemic began," he said, referencing tense contract negotiations with teachers and the instituting of mandatory online courses in secondary school.
"Conservatives just cannot help themselves, that when they're given a chance ... one of their first actions is to go on the attack against publicly funded education."
The Liberals say their capital schools plan would build 200 more schools, repair, upgrade and rebuild another 4,500, and carry out renovations to ensure new ventilation systems in every school that needs them.
The party said it would allocate the $10 billion to be spent over five or six years, and it would be in addition to $14 billion over 10 years that has already been budgeted.
The Progressive Conservatives have not provided an overall cost estimate for the planned Highway 413 around the Greater Toronto Area, but the Liberals oppose it, saying it will destroy farmland and won't save commuters much time. Independent estimates have pegged the cost at up to $10 billion.
The school repair backlog has been pegged in recent years around $16 billion, a number that the NDP largely blames on the previous Liberal government that was in power for 15 years.
The Liberals closed more than 270 schools, the NDP noted. Del Duca said if the Liberals form government after this election, "we will not be closing any schools."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 4, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. seeks ban on using drugs in 'all public spaces,' shifting approach to decriminalization
The B.C. government is moving to have drug use banned in 'all public spaces,' marking a major shift in the province's approach to decriminalization.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Air traveller complaints to Canadian Transportation Agency hit new high
The Canadian Transportation Agency has hit a record high of more than 71,000 complaints in a backlog. The quasi-judicial regulator and tribunal tasked with settling disputes between customers and the airlines says the backlog is growing because the number of incoming complaints keeps increasing.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid says he has Bell's palsy
Philadelphia 76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid has been diagnosed with Bell’s palsy, a form of facial paralysis he says has affected him since before the play-in tournament.
U.S. flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.