Please forward replies to info@eeon.org for publication.

Dear XXX candidate

I am a supporter of Environmental Education Ontario [EEON], a charitable organization that is committed to improving environment and climate education and ensuring that Ontario’s public schools can address the impacts of climate change. 

EEON recently sent a questionnaire to each political party leader asking them about their plans for improving climate change education; developing a plan to make our schools climate resilient; supporting safe active transportation infrastructure for students and the electrification of our school bus fleets; and declaring April Earth and Climate Education month.  You can read the questionnaire below.

Voters in Ontario need to be able to make informed choices. As the candidate for _____________ party in my riding of ___________________ I would like to know where your party stands on the issues that EEON is raising. I am therefore writing to ask that you encourage your party leader to respond to EEON's questionnaire. 

I would also be interested to know of your views on how we can help our students and our schools address the climate crisis, accelerate the transition away from polluting fossil fuels, and build a more equitable, sustainable Ontario for our children. 

Sincerely,

XXX

Environmental Education Ontario is committed to improving environment and climate education and ensuring that Ontario’s public schools can address the impacts of climate change. As voters in Ontario go to the polls we are reaching out to obtain your views on this critical issue so that we can help citizens make an informed choice.

The climate crisis is accelerating, and our children are among the most impacted. Wildfire smoke in summer has made our air dangerous to breathe; heatwaves are affecting students and staff in schools that lack cooling; flooding is damaging school buildings and increasing the risk of mold-related health harms. Our students’ mental health is also being impacted: 73% of youth in Canada are reporting that they find the future frightening. For students from Black and Indigenous communities and communities of colour, the threat of climate change comes on top of, and threatens to worsen, the impacts of systemic racism and economic inequality.

It is therefore critical that Ontario’s education system addresses the threat of climate change. Below are three areas of particular concern and three sets of questions we would like you to answer.

1.        Climate Change Education 

Our children deserve robust climate change education that equips them with the knowledge and skills to address climate change and build resilience in the face of climate threats. Our current curriculum is not up to this task and too many of our school textbooks are out of date. 

Questions: 

A. Will you commit to revising the curriculum to ensure that all Ontario’s students are climate literate and understand the causes, impacts and solutions to the climate crisis?

B. Will you commit to funding teacher training and resource preparation to support a revised curriculum?

2.        Climate adaptation and mitigation school buildings

Our schools need to be made climate resilient; they also need to be equipped to play a role in climate mitigation. The Financial Accountability Office of Ontario has shown that 37.4% of school buildings across Ontario are below the state of good repair, including 84.1% of the Toronto District’s School Board’s buildings. Further, in a separate report, the FAO has shown that climate adaptation will require a 16% increase in funding in order to maintain public infrastructure in its current state. School facilities require urgent upgrades to address climate impacts and protect the health and safety of students and staff. At the same time, by retrofitting for energy efficiency, installing local renewable energy systems such as solar and geothermal, and adding battery storage, schools could play a role in the transition to a clean, low-carbon economy.  Such measures would also significantly reduce energy costs.

Question: Will you commit to developing and implementing a funding plan to ensure that our schools are repaired, retrofitted for energy efficiency, and transitioned away from polluting fossil fuels?

3.        Transport 

Currently unsafe streets and limited access to safe biking infrastructure are limiting students’ ability to safely walk or cycle to school. Further, the health of students who rely on diesel buses is being negatively impacted by diesel pollution which increases rates of asthma and other respiratory illnesses. To improve student health and well-being and accelerate the adoption of low-carbon active transport, we need to ensure students are able to safely walk or cycle to school and we need to electrify our school bus fleets. This will not only improve student health, but with Vehicle to Grid charging, electric buses can help stabilize our power grid and in the event of power outages E-buses can serve as emergency sources of back-up power for schools that serve as community climate emergency hubs.

Question: Will you commit to supporting the development of safe active transportation infrastructure for students and the electrification of our school bus fleets?

4.     Make April Earth and Climate Education Month

We are calling on whichever party wins the election and forms government to issue a formal declaration naming April “Earth and Climate Education Month.” Such a declaration would energize efforts to inform and engage Ontario’s citizens on climate change and accelerate the transition needed to secure a sustainable, liveable future for all of us. 

Question: Will you commit to making this declaration?

We look forward to receiving your reply. All responses will be published on EEON’s website.