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Lauren Moroso (0918627) POLS 3270 February 4th, 2019 Letter to the Editor Article #1: Toronto Star, January 29th, 2019, by: Kristin Rushowy Ontario commits to keep full-day kindergarten in place for the next school year Ontario’s education minister is committing to full-day kindergarten this fall — but telling parents they’ll have to “stay tuned” to find out if it will continue beyond the next school year. “We’re consulting with our education partners in terms of what’s working and what’s not,” she told reporters during a visit to the Boys & Girls Club of East Scarborough on Galloway Rd. on Tuesday afternoon to talk about her government’s proposed child-care changes. “We’ll be back in touch with you after our consultation has been concluded and we have worked through the data and have a report prepared to share with you.” Last week, the Ministry of Education started discussions with teacher and support staff unions, as well as trustee associations, on potential changes to class sizes, full-day kindergarten and hiring rules. Thompson has said she wants to ensure “the best learning environment” while the province is wrestling down a deficit of up to $14.5 billion. She was asked by reporters then about the future of full-day kindergarten, but would not speculate. When pressed about the issue again on Tuesday, she said it would be “premature” to comment on the program which was introduced by the McGuinty Liberals almost a decade ago at a cost of $1.5 billion a year. “What I’m saying is this: we’re consulting with our education partners and stay tuned,” Thompson said. “What I’m saying is I’m absolutely respecting the process of consultation. We are listening. We’re asking first, we’re listening and then we’re going to analyze the information that has come back to us,” the education minister also said. “So it would be absolutely irresponsible to have a position before we actually have finalized our consultations. I’m sure you can appreciate that.” The government has asked the unions and trustee groups to comment on the full-day program, class-size caps in the primary years, as well as a controversial hiring rule known as Regulation 274 that compels principals to hire supply teachers with the most seniority for long-term and permanent positions.

Lauren Moroso (0918627) POLS 3270 February 4th, 2019 Letter to the Editor A ministry consultation document asks about full-day kindergarten, in particular class size — currently an average of 26 students — and the staffing model, which is a full-time teacher and full-time early childhood educator. (The exception is classes with fewer than 16 students, which can be teacher only.) The document asks if there are “other models the ministry should consider.” While there are other full-day models, experts have said making changes would not only upset staff but also families, who have come to depend on the popular program for 4- and 5-year-olds. Earlier suggestions for full-day kindergarten proposed maintaining a half-day program with a teacher with early childhood educators covering the rest, including before- and after-school care, at a cost of $1 billion a year. However the Liberals, under Dalton McGuinty, decided on an all-day teacher and early childhood education model, adding half a billion dollars annually. In 2012, in his report to the Liberal government, economist Don Drummond said the $1.5 billion full-day kindergarten program should be scrapped or revamped. And during the 2014 election, former Progressive Conservative leader Tim Hudak proposed a teacher-only model — though drop class sizes to 20 children — to save $200 million. Research of Ontario’s program has shown gains in children’s social, emotional and cognitive development from the Ontario full-day program, and helps catch problems early on — saving money in the future. RE: Ontario commits to keep full-day kindergarten in place for the next year Ontario’s full-day kindergarten program may seem like a good idea on paper, but in reality, it is probably not the wisest decision. For starters, the government is already drowning in a $14.5 billion deficit, so this expense to fund the program and pay the teachers will only make that value increase. Also, the uncertainty that this program will or will not run past this upcoming school year is very unsettling, I assume, for many families. There are many people who currently rely on this program as it is, so to go ahead and change it for potentially only a year as a test run could definitely cause some aggravation. This also may disrupt and interfere with the parent’s full-time job situation. With this new change, stay at home mom’s and dad’s may have the chance now to pursue a full or part time job during the day while their children attend school. If this program is removed after a year, many parents who took on a new job will have to re-adjust their schedule or quit altogether. Another point to be made is whether these kids are able to withstand a full day’s worth of school. Many kids who are 4-5 years of age tend to have short attention spans and may

Lauren Moroso (0918627) POLS 3270 February 4th, 2019 Letter to the Editor not have the ability to focus and learn for 7 hours a day. The whole point of kindergarten is to ease kids into the full day learning environment and giving them a chance to develop academic skills at an appropriate pace given their young age. Implementing this program may lead to many problems for not only the kids and their parents, but also for the government if they spend all this money and it backfires within the first year. Lauren Moroso, Guelph

Lauren Moroso (0918627) POLS 3270 February 4th, 2019 Letter to the Editor Article #2: Guelph Mercury Tribune, Jan 30th 2019, by: Graeme McNaughton Guelph council approves 12 recommendations to improve transit Councillors have gotten their first look at a top-to-bottom review of the city’s transit services — now they will have to approve the millions of dollars of spending needed to make those proposals realities. Early last year the service began a review to lay out a dozen recommendations on how Guelph Transit can be improved, ranging from bringing on more drivers, expanding one bus program and eliminating an unpopular one. "This is really great feedback that we're getting from everyone involved in this," Mayor Cam Guthrie said ahead of the vote, which unanimously accepted the report's recommendations. "I really hope that we can get moving on these things. And I know that (staff are) excited to do it and seems like council is as well. I'm sure the community is definitely wanting to get going on this." While some of the recommendations will not get started until mid-2020, others are projected to start right away, pending funding being made available. City staff say it will take three to five years to fully roll out the report’s recommendations, although deputy chief administrative officer Colleen Clack told councillors that riders should expect to see visible changes this year. One of the recommendations that could have an immediate impact on the city’s pocketbook is the proposal to bring on 19 new drivers over the next six years. Pending council approval of the tax-supported budget in March, this would cost $260,000 for 2019. The report notes there would need to be an annual increase of $260,000 until the base increase is completed. While the recommendation to bring on new drivers is projected to maintain service levels, Clack said the city will have to be more proactive in ensuring potential drivers see Guelph as a place to work. “I know other transportation properties are also having challenges. School bus companies, we've heard, are also struggling to find drivers. Industrial companies are finding it hard to find drivers,” she said. “So while we can recruit, I think we need to be more proactive, so that we are being competitive in terms of how we're handling that recruiting process and having someone actively

Lauren Moroso (0918627) POLS 3270 February 4th, 2019 Letter to the Editor getting out, potentially outside of Guelph, and looking for opportunities to help us recruit drivers.” While the service review found a high satisfaction with Guelph Transit — 69 per cent — at least one delegate questioned whether that number was truly indicative of the community’s views on city buses. John Marchese, a member of the Transit Action Alliance of Guelph (TAAG), said while the city’s population has grown the number of people getting on a bus has remained largely stagnant. One of the things keeping that number stagnant, he said, was the University Centre transit hub, citing buses being distanced far apart and a lack of shelter and seating areas for those waiting for their transfer. “I believe that this, and having to be amongst the throngs of riders on extremely overcrowded buses, discourages potential new riders,” he said. Changes could also encourage riders to return, like Barbara Sim, another member of TAAG who told councillors that her first trip on Guelph Transit soured her on the city’s bus system. She said that she had taken a bus to the downtown core when she first moved to the area, and was looking to get another bus home. However, she was given an out of date transit map, leading to her getting on a bus that would not get her home. “Guelph has the distinction of the only city in the world that I've ever got lost on transit,” she said.

RE: Guelph Council Approves 12 Recommendations to Improve Transit Guelph public transportation has been a flawed system for a number of years now, speaking from multiple negative experiences. Although I recognize that these changes are finally being implemented, they needed to be done yesterday. I truly believe that council members do not fully understand the frustration and inconvenience of waiting for a bus that does not end up showing up or not being able to get on because the bus is too full. There have been many complaints throughout the years of these persisting issues, and yet, public transportation improvements still seem to remain on the back burner of the government’s priorities list. I understand there are a lot of pressing concerns that the city needs to tend to immediately, but this is not a new issue. Many citizens, including myself, have endured transportation problems for far too long and we need to see proactive change as soon as possible.

Lauren Moroso (0918627) POLS 3270 February 4th, 2019 Letter to the Editor As a University of Guelph student, I heavily rely on the bus as my main source of transportation, as I do not have the luxury of owning a car. I could not tell you how many times I have waited at the bus stop and it drives by because it is already full or it just simply does not show, leaving me stranded to walk or to not attend my class because I would be far too late. The bus stop closest to my house is one of the last stops the bus makes on its route to the University, meaning that more than likely it will be full. Considering that there are only so many buses/bus drivers in circulation, this will continue to happen. This is very annoying and inconvenient, especially if I need to make it to campus for a midterm or final. I pay a lot of money to attend University and it would be nice if I could rely on a well-organized public transportation system to get to campus so I can complete my degree. Lauren Moroso, Guelph...