Huron Bruce MPP Lisa Thompson is supporting a rally on Monday against school closures, suggesting the government is again ignoring local authority.
Concerned citizens from Markdale, Owen Sound and Paisley joined the Ontario Alliance Against School Closures at the rally at Queen's Park to try to save the only school in Markdale, and in Paisley.
Thompson says the prospect of local school closures has led to significant concerns because schools can spur investment and growth in rural communities. She adds rural school children face an increased distance they must travel by bus.
She says the Bruce Power Refurbishment that will bring 2700 jobs to the area, would increase future enrollment numbers in both Paisley and Chesley.
She says the government should enact a moratorium on school closures immediately and fix the arbitrary guidelines that removed the value of the community voices.
"There is a troubling pattern with this government ignoring community autonomy," says Thompson. "The 2009 Green Energy Act stripped away local authority too, and we all know how that impacted rural Ontario."
The Ontario Alliance Against School closures has a letter for the Minister of Education signed by 40 groups in Ontario fighting local school closures.
Spokesperson Heather Petrie says Chapman's ice cream actually offered to buy the local school to help ensure the town of Markdale can continue to thrive.
The group is concerned that the funding model is punitive to rural areas, and doesn't take into account the impact a school has in a rural community.
