Ontario Education Minister Lisa Thompson was greeted by protesters in Sarnia Saturday.
The minister attended the ribbon cutting at the newly renovated YMCA Child Care Centre on Oakdale Avenue.
Protesters at Education Minister's visit to Sarnia May 11, 2019. (Blackburnnews.com photo by Stephanie Chaves)
Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation (OSSTF) District 10 President Jennifer Kumpf was one of the demonstrators protesting education changes recently announced by the provincial government, including larger class sizes.
Kumpf said they want to make sure the minister hears their message.
"It's really important that we're focusing on youth at all ages," said Kumpf. "We're really concerned about what the proposed education cuts mean locally, 110 teachers are laid off. We are concerned about what that's going to mean when these kids are no longer using those childcare spaces and are moving on in education."
Thompson said she wasn't surprised by the group of protestors, and took time to talk with a math teacher from Northern Collegiate during her visit.
"There's a lot of rhetoric that's causing anxiety," said Thompson. "I just hope that everybody can remain calm and let all the pieces come together. We are going to make sure that we have the best learning environment for students and teachers, and we're going to get it right. Education over the last number of years under the previous administration went off the rails. We want to work with our front line teachers and ECE's and EA's, the whole collective environment in our schools."
YMCA Learning and Career Child Care Centre Ribbon Cutting. (Blackburnnews.com photo by Stephanie Chaves)
The YMCA Child Care Centre on Oakdale Avenue added 10 infant and 15 toddler spaces to the 16 preschool spaces already at the centre.
Vice President of Children's Educational Services Jo-elle Rinker said they're still in the process of filling the childcare spots.
Interested families can connect with the centre through OneList Lambton.
