Sault NDP candidate issues statement on school boards

Sault NDP candidate Michele McCleave-Kennedy, in an email issued Sunday, stated she is in favour of retaining separate school boards in Ontario.

An email issued by the Ontario Liberals Saturday, the same day NDP leader Andrea Horwath visited the Sault in support of McCleave-Kennedy’s local campaign, stated “Andrea Horwath, leader of the NDP, must eliminate the confusion suddenly surrounding her party’s position on one public school system after her candidate spoke in favour of the policy.”

The Liberal email stated “at the OSSTF Communications/Political Action Committee (CPAC) Meeting in November 2016, McCleave-Kennedy helped lead sessions to establish a single education system…So where does Andrea Horwath stand on this issue?”

In response, McCleave-Kennedy wrote “this latest Liberal attack is just that, a desperate partisan attack. The NDP has been absolutely clear on this. We have no plans to make any changes to the existing structure of Ontario's school system and I personally am in total agreement. What we will change is Kathleen Wynne's chronic underfunding of education. We will fix the funding formula, tackle the school repair backlog, get rid of EQAO testing, and invest in the educational experience of our children.”