TO THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO
WHEREAS in 1998 the former Conservative government passed Regulation 20/98, which prohibited school boards from collecting Education Development Charges if they had, what the government deemed as excess capacity in any of their schools;
WHEREAS the regulation allowed boards to use Education Development Charges only to purchase land and not to build or repair schools;
WHEREAS this regulation has meant that developers have been pocketing hundreds of millions in Education Development Charges that should have gone to our schools.
WHEREAS in Toronto, the regulation has meant that Education Development Charges go only to Catholic schools, which now get $2400 per residential unit
WHEREAS both public and Catholic boards need Education Development Charges to purchase land and build schools in Toronto,
WHEREAS the Education Development Charges regulation has meant that the former Conservative and Liberal governments pushed school boards to close almost 300 schools across Ontario;
WHEREAS because the TDSB could not access Education Development Charges, the former Conservative and Liberal governments forced the TDSB to close schools in Etobicoke, North York and Scarborough
THEREFORE, we the undersigned petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to:
- Ensure all Toronto Schools can collect Education Development Charges and use them to repair and expand schools.
- Commit to changing O.Reg 20/98 and allow Toronto school boards to:
- Charge developers Education Development Charges to ensure that all developers contribute in a meaningful way to the public infrastructure from which they ultimately profit;
- Use the money collected via Education Development Charges for not only land acquisition, but also school expansions, retrofits, repairs, and renewal projects