Disability and the two wise men

“Those we most often exclude from the normal life of society, people with disabilities, have profound lessons to teach us.”  Jean Vanier, Becoming Human

There can be an overlap between disability and mental health when the years of dealing with mental, physical or learning challenges take a toll on a child. Nothing prepares you for your child's first crisis. Like glass shattering around you, you find out everything you've taken for granted is as fragile as fine crystal. 

Your daughter somehow finds a bottle of sleeping pills and is now unresponsive. You find the strength to drive her to the hospital where she regains consciousness but you are told that she won't be assessed.  After a number of attempts with similar hospital outcomes, you finally realize that for your child's safety, you will have to call the police. And you think there can be nothing so heart-breaking as watching the police take away your child.

Nothing, that is, until you talk to Amanda Telford.  Some of you may remember Amanda from the headlines last spring when for her son's safety, she left 20-year-old Philippe in the care of a social service agency. Philippe has developmental delays and autism.  He has Tourette syndrome and because of this, he flicks his wrists in a manner that others find off-putting.  He is a runner and has run into traffic.  Philippe also has adult-onset diabetes that require daily insulin injections and because of his complex needs, the Telfords had trouble finding respite care for Philippe.  For years, they took turns sleeping and working in shifts, never leaving Philippe unattended.

The Telfords played the game by all the rules to find care for Philippe.  They contacted appropriate social service agencies to simply request a little respite care.  They were then promised meetings with agencies that didn't materialize.  They contacted their provincial and federal representatives and were told to wait their turn ... on a waiting list with 568 other families at that time.  A few years ago, there were two hundred adults waiting for residential services in Eastern Ontario.  Now there are now 931. Two years ago, 13 adults were placed in residential care.  Last year, there were 3 placements!  When Amanda's health started to fail, she couldn't wait any longer.

We are often told the aging population will create a crisis for medical and social service agencies and a financial crisis for the next generation.  But there is some truth to an editorial in the December 2012 edition of Zoomer Canada where Moses Znaimer says that the Boomer generation is the one holding it together financially for the Millennials both in terms of continuing to house them well into their twenties while holding vast amounts of equity in their homes that many Millennials will eventually inherit.  Many Boomers who do survive to be 90 or 100 will have that home equity to see them through and even if junior doesn't inherit the house, mom or dad Boomer are less likely to be a drain on the public purse than prognosticators of the "grey tsunami" would have us believe.

On the other hand, there are great numbers of children with autism and other special needs who are coming of age.  What will become of this tidal wave of children with exceptional needs as they mature?  To my mind, this is the real crisis.

As parents of exceptional children age, we worry about who will be there to care and support our children when we no longer can.  We go to great lengths to set up wills with Henson Trusts, the only vehicle available to ensure that our children's needs will be met. We scrape together whatever we can deposit in Registered Disability Savings Plans, the RRSP equivalent for people with special needs.  And these will just provide basics for our children.

Governments closed institutions in Canada for humane reasons or so we were told.  But it is definitely not humane if the only alternative to institutional care is to live in an elderly parent's home or on the street. Canadian governments haven't funded nearly enough group home spaces to begin to meet the growing need. And as thousands wait in line for a residential space, Amanda is asked the heart-wrenching question once again, "Will you take your son home now?"  And somehow every month or so, she has to find the strength to advocate for her son while continuing to say no.  What will happen to Philippe when Amanda is no longer there to watch out for him?  What will happen to the thousands of Philippes?

It's interesting to note how different religious leaders often reach similar conclusions. Jean Vanier is a deeply religious Catholic and Mahatma Ghandi was a devout Hindu.  I'll finish with a last quote from Ghandi:

"A nation's greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members."

Don't look at the elderly as the threat to civil society when the real danger comes from shards of glass beneath our feet.


The views expressed in this post are personal opinions only.

The making of a politician

Running for public office can be daunting.  Putting yourself and your views out for public scrutiny is scary.  I suppose this has always been the case but it is particularly so since the advent of the internet.  Good people who run in an election need a thick skin and your encouragement.  As I wrote in an earlier post, most people should be encouraged.   They run for office for good and caring reasons.  But what happens to these good people after they become politicians?

About 8 years ago before I became a school trustee, I attended an education conference in Toronto.  It might have been the annual People for Education conference, which I highly recommend, or an event sponsored by The Learning Partnership.   The important feature was that it brought together different people interested in education under one roof.

I remember two moments from that conference.  The first was that a trustee from another school board encouraged me to run for office.  Her gesture was very kind and meant a lot to me, although there have been a few days since when I was more likely to curse than thank her.  This trustee and I became good friends and although politics can be hard, I have no regrets about running.

The other part I remember is hearing an older trustee speak on a panel.  This gentleman was well on in age and he said something that I found rather peculiar.  He said that in his school board, the board meetings are scheduled on the same evenings as the school council meetings.  Why?  Because school trustees didn't want to hear or didn't want to know parents' complaints.  He felt that if he heard some parents first-hand, it would influence his decision-making ability in the boardroom.

At the time, this struck me as rather strange.  Why wouldn't a politician want to keep in touch with his constituents?  Why wouldn't a person responsible for governing an institution want to hear complaints?  Why would a thoughtful man want to keep himself ignorant?  Now I understand a little better.

The use of various mechanisms within political practice, such as plausible deniability, creates a win-win situation for politicians and bureaucrats.  It's not just staff in a school board, city hall or legislature who want to keep politicians in the dark; many politicians want this too.  It works for both sides and the "good politician" who is willing to play the game, soon learns not to make waves and not to ask certain questions.

I was given advice by a veteran politician shortly after I became a trustee.  It was, "Play ball with staff.  Defer to staff."  Sadly for me, I suppose, I never got the hang of this and I continue to ask questions.  Perhaps it's arrogance and I delude myself to think that I am a better politician in trying to understand a very complex system.

Even though I'm not one, I have a lot of sympathy for the "good politician."  The system really is so incredibly complicated with a great many traps.  I think most new politicians must feel overwhelmed and many strike an informal deal with their staff - I will not make waves and will support staff initiatives if you support and protect me.  Of course none of this is actually said.  It simply becomes the dynamics of the interaction between the two groups -- an understanding.

At some point, the politician makes a choice.  Although the bureaucracy works to keep politicians in the dark, it's the politician him or herself who makes the decision to stay in the dark.  Through this arrangement, staff  maintains control by limiting contact to the politician.  In return, the politician may get some protection with a bail-out in a difficult situation or perhaps staff assistance with a project that works to the politician's benefit.

Of course all this is used to comedic effect in older TV shows like Yes Minister and we even saw it illustrated on the show the West Wing, where the politician in question was a principled and brilliant president.  The point is that most politicians either learn to play the game or their political party and staff will find ways to ensure they do.

I now have free rein to speak and as a school trustee, I don't need to worry about the influence of a political party.  Still I can assure you that even without the influence of a party, there are mechanisms used to try and silence outspoken politicians though we are learning just this week that they don't always work.

It is an extraordinary politician who can pick his way through this ethical mine field unscathed and we honour those rare politicians, such as Nelson Mandela or Mahatma Gandhi, who do survive.  The winners in this game are not simply those who cling to office. That's easy enough to do.  The real winners are the leaders who inspire us and leave public office with their integrity largely intact.


The views expressed in this post are personal opinions only.

Rob Ford and the unexamined life

I love conversations with my son.  It's a routine we fell into many years ago as we watched tree bats at sunset swoop overhead or walked in an early morning rain.  Over time, it became outings to Chapters with conversations over coffee.  Now we just seem to fall into the routine anytime we can.  It's a great gift!

My fondest memories of my late father involve walking and talking too -- over a long bridge in the winter cold for the joy of a hot chocolate on the other side or on a beach at dawn in search of sand dollars. Those were the times my father would impart parental pearls of wisdom or ask, "If all your friends jumped off a bridge, would you jump too?". But what I remember most are the stories my father told me about his life.

My dad saw the world as larger than himself.  Orphaned as a child, he cherished the notion of family as part of that bigger, more important world he believed in.  Through his beliefs and principles, my father knew who he was.  He had integrity and he wanted his children to grow into principled adults too.

What is a good parent?  Although putting a roof over children's heads is important, being a good parent is not about buying things. Nor is it about living in the best neighbourhoods or enrolling children in the best schools.  And it's not just about throwing a football around, though that's good to do too.  It's about spending real time rather than simply quality time with your child.  It's about talking with your child.  And about something we can all do -- listening to our children.

The funny thing is that the listening part is probably the most important aspect.  By listening to your child, you validate her as human being.  You communicate that he has something worthwhile to say.  And if you have the patience to listen, really listen, you may find that your child does indeed have something valuable to say, occasionally something even brilliant.  Out of the mouths of babes come honest observations unfettered by convention.

Well, I promised a tie-in with our cause célèbre of the week, Rob Ford.  What I see in Rob Ford is a man sadly without integrity, someone without a larger world of principles or beliefs. As is revealed in the latest video, a man who lives in the very small lonely world for himself and himself alone, without larger purpose. Little wonder he turns to alcohol and crack in his loneliness.

Though an extreme example, Rob Ford is a product of our time.  When few people have time to make sense of the world or even have time for a conversation, when people are inundated with senseless information devoid of meaning, when they are alienated and feel powerless to control their destinies, and when change is happening at an increasingly faster rate, almost everyone is left floundering.  'Whatever', the universal cry of youth, then becomes the norm.

If I were to have had this conversation 2,400 years ago with the philosopher Socrates, he might have responded, "The unexamined life is not worth living." Slow down and find out who you are. Take time to know yourself.

This seems an especially good maxim for politicians to follow. As Andrew Coyne said on The National, "There's been longstanding problems of a lack of an accountability mechanism. We've relied a lot on decent chaps running things. And when decent chaps aren't decent chaps or aren't running things, we've run into difficulties."  To which I might respond, well south-of-the-border, they've seen the result of the other extreme with too many checks and balances. They now have a political system that is shut down with gridlock.  Right now, neither the Canadian nor the American system seems to be working very well.

All I can do in life, all anyone can do, is moderate my own behaviour.  To do this well, I have to be introspective and act with integrity, accepting my mistakes and learning from them.  Reflection takes time though but with it, the old-fashioned words of principle and integrity can take on new meaning.  All we really need to do is slow down and listen to that inner voice; just slow down.  It doesn't really matter where you begin but a walk with your child this weekend would be a good place to start.


P.S.  Last weekend, I had the pleasure of meeting a regular reader of this blog who was kind enough to come over and introduce himself.  Thank you.  If you ever find yourself in the same room with me, please don't be shy. Come over and say hello.


The views expressed in this post are personal opinions only.

Let's make amends for residential schools

Five years ago, I went on a cruise in the North. I have seen much of this wonderful country but like most Canadians, I had never been up North. I know this sounds extravagant but in my defense, a cruise is the only way to see much of it.  The voyage was from Reykjavik Iceland, which is wonderful, around the tip of Greenland, on to Nunavut including a stop in Iqaluit, and then down the coast of Labrador to St. John's, Newfoundland.  

Qaqortoq, Greenland

The North is so beautiful and it's all it's cracked up to be. There are thundering glaciers, shimmering Northern Lights, landscapes covered in flowers, and beautiful friendly children.  Here's a picture of some students in Qaqortoq, Greenland. Look at the town behind them.  The homes are freshly painted and you might not spot them but there's a school and a hospital too.  It was a different story in Labrador.  In the towns where we stopped, I saw buildings that were generally in poor repair and children who were high.

The stark contrast between these communities left me with real questions. The people of the Greenland and Labrador communities are of similar backgrounds and culture. So why is it that a relatively small country like Denmark can appear to get it right while a wealthy country like Canada gets it so wrong?  I have given this some thought over time and it seems that the answer boils down to a difference in the histories.  From what I've read of Greenland's history, it never had residential schools.

Handcuffs used on Native American school children

Let's look at the question of residential schools for a moment because there can often be some confusion.  While residential schools were boarding schools, they were also designed to assimilate Aboriginal children. Residential schools were first opened in 1831 and the last one was closed in 1996. Unlike boarding schools, children as young as four years of age were forcibly sent to live continuously at residential schools often for many years at a time.

A school is supposed to be a refuge for children but students in residential schools were forbidden from speaking their language and practicing their traditions. Hundreds of miles away from home and without a means of travel, many students did not see their families for years.  And we all know about the abuse including sexual abuse that happened in these schools.  I have had the honour of speaking to survivors of residential schools. When I hear the stories, I cannot help but cry for their pain.  How can it be in a country like Canada that these schools were allowed to become something akin to prisons for so many little children?   

Yesterday, I listened to the Speech from the Throne.  There were 133 references to "our government" in the speech.  I counted them.  

In 2008, Prime Minister Stephen Harper apologized to the survivors of residential schools. Maybe I'm old fashioned but I believe that when you genuinely apologize, you also try to make amends. Towards this end, I had hoped to hear in the Throne Speech something about a new government initiative for educating children on reserves.  Instead I heard this:

Our Government recognizes the tremendous potential of Canada’s First Nations, Métis and Inuit populations to strengthen the growing Canadian economy. It will continue working with First Nations to develop stronger, more effective, and more accountable on-reserve education systems. 

Does this sound like a new initiative to you?  And doesn't it strike you as rather odd that "our government" would honour Malala Yousafzai, who is rightly deserving of honour for her heroic efforts in support of education, while ignoring the educational needs of students here at home?

There is an ongoing legacy from these schools that will haunt First Nations and Inuit people for generations. At the impressionable age of 4, Aboriginal children were robbed of their language and culture, robbed of good parenting role models and love, and ultimately robbed of their childhoods.  And with the poverty that surrounds many reserve communities today, how can these children who are now adults hope to raise healthy children?

Governor General Johnston, I am one of your many proud Canadians.  But when I think about the history of the residential schools, I am filled with a deep sense of shame.  It is time for this government to make good on its apology.


For more information about residential schools, go to The Legacy of Hope Foundation or to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

The views expressed in this post are personal opinions only.

The wisdom of Malala

What can be said to today's youth by way of advice about the future?  There's little -- it's unknowable and everything changes so rapidly.  There are no reliable trends and few traditions to depend on.  But then this week I came upon Daniel Pink's The Adventures of Johnny Bunko.  It's in a cartoon format and I highly recommend it to all guidance teachers.  While Pink doesn't claim to know the future, he does lay out some guidelines for youth that make sense:

1. There is no plan.
2. Think strengths, not weaknesses.
3. It's not about you.
4. Persistence trumps talent.
5. Make excellent mistakes.
6. Leave an imprint.

As I listened to a very moving interview this week with Malala Yousafzai, I couldn't help but think that Malala is familiar with Pink's work. Of course she couldn't be but how is it then that a 16-year-old girl can be so wise?

Truth be told, I wasn't just very moved by this interview.  I was moved to tears. Even Jon Stewart held his breath as Malala responded to the question of what she would do if she met her Taliban attacker.  I can't do justice to her words but Malala said that she thought about hitting her attacker with her shoe but then realized this would make her no different from him.  Clearly showing that she had reflected on this subject deeply, Malala ends with an answer to the effect that she would tell him to shoot but to listen to her first.

How can Malala know about Gandhian principles?  How is it that someone so young can be so wise?  Then I am brought back to earth by a 16-year-old giggle.

"There is no plan." according to Pink.  Right.  So how does one live one's life?  Do we have to live during the Elizabethan era or be part of the civil rights movement to make a difference?  And what if there isn't an era or a movement to hang your hat on.  What do you do to make a meaningful life?

You do what Malala did.  If the police and politicians aren't acting to right wrongs, you speak up for what's right and you carry on with your life.  Malala and her girlfriends continued to go to school each day.  These girls continued to do what they believed was right even when 400 schools were bombed by the Taliban in the Swat Valley. And from what I heard in the interview, some of the girls like Malala knew their lives were in danger but they didn't dwell on it.  They just got up each morning and went to school.  How powerful is that?

Of course it truly is and Malala knows it.  To the question, "Where did your love of education come from?" Malala responds, "We are human beings and this is the part of our human nature.  We don't learn the importance of anything until it is snatched from our hands.  And in Pakistan, when we were stopped from going to school, at that time I realized that education is very important.  And education is the power for women and that's why the terrorists are afraid of education.  They do not want women to get education because then women will become more powerful."

To echo Jon Stewart's response, exactly!  What is it about education, particularly for girls, that makes it so powerful?  There's a lovely video that helps explain this well -- The Girl Effect, The Clock is Ticking.

It's about more than keeping girls safe in school.  For almost all children, school is their only path to literacy and with literacy, children can learn empathy.  They can read books about teens, in my day it was Catcher in the Rye, learn that their lives are not so different, and feel not quite so alone.  Through reading, they can know other lives and see other possibilities.  They can understand that the lives they live at that moment are not predetermined by fate nor by the authorities.  They can dream other futures.

Through art, students learn about their own creativity and the possibilities for transforming this into talent. With mathematical skills, they can turn these talents into successful businesses that can feed themselves and their families.  And with knowledge of science and health, they can begin to understand that they have some mastery over nature and over their own bodies and then use this to keep themselves and their children healthy.

All children can gain from these gifts but for girls in particular, an education can give them that all-powerful self-confidence to say no.  In a society that places lesser value on women, and let's face it that's most societies, this self-assurance can make all the difference.  The Taliban, and in some ways they are no worse than many western governments, are simply smart enough to know that they lose power in a society where women can say no.

How is it that a 16-year-old is so wise?  Malala has done a lot of living in her sixteen years.  Although it's unlikely that she has read Daniel Pink's books, Malala has learnt his lessons through first-hand experience and reflection.

When your life is threatened for it, most sane adults would say it's a real mistake to continue going to school. But Malala understands Pink's fifth lesson, the one about having the courage to make excellent mistakes, particularly well.  The day she was shot, a year ago yesterday, Malala did what she would always do.  Malala went to school.


P.S.  Since I wrote this post, Malala Yousafzai received the Nobel Peace Prize! She was also invited to the White House to meet with President Obama.  According to various sources, this is what she said to the President:

I thanked President Obama for the United States' work in supporting education in Pakistan and Afghanistan and for Syrian refugees.  I also expressed my concerns that drone attacks are fuelling terrorism.  Innocent victims are killed in these acts, and they lead to resentment among the Pakistani people.  If we refocus efforts on education it will make a big impact.

What an amazing young woman!  

The views expressed in this post are personal opinions only.

The starfish and the power of caring

Lissadell Beach, Co Sligo, Ireland

One day, an old man was walking along a beach. There'd been a storm with very high tides and many starfish were stranded above the high water mark. In the distance, he saw a young girl and noticed she was carefully placing starfish back into the sea. Curious he walked over and said, "There are thousands of beached starfish and you can't possibly put them all back. Why are you doing this?  What does it matter?" The girl looked down at the beauty of the starfish shimmering in the palm of her hand. She then looked up at the old man and replied with some confidence, "It matters to this one."

This short story helps illustrate two points.  The first is about the idealism of youth. Thank heavens there are young people in every generation who don't know that something can't be done and so they do it. The world would quickly sink into a quagmire of unresolvable problems without them!  And the second?  Well, that's the point of this story.

People often ask me why I am a trustee and as I sat before a video camera on Saturday, I was reminded how often I'm asked this question.  In a sense, I understand why it's asked. It can seem to be a rather strange occupation as the compensation is small, the level of stress is high, and there's little power or prestige attached to the job particularly in recent years.  I receive angry phone calls about unknown problems and sometimes hundreds of emails lobbying me on a particular issue.  It can be lonely too as there are few others in the profession and those who are can be political foes. That's the nature of politics generally and at times, it can feel like the Wild West.  In response to the question often implied, yes, some days I should have my head examined!  Then there are the other days.  The reason I am a trustee is that it's the best job on earth.  

Let's step back a moment and look at our schools.  All government, health, economic or educational institutions are organizations we create to meet human needs. By their very nature, institutions call on people to subsume their individualism for the collective good and must of necessity treat individuals in their care in a set fashion.  This is not done with callousness or a lack of caring.  Serving hundreds or thousands of people often has to be done in a standardized fashion if it is to be done at all.

But children are individuals, complex individuals, and they are not amenable to routine treatment.  Their needs change from child to child and they even change from day to day. We can't bake them with a recipe nor make them on an assembly line.  Children are not vessels to be filled or clay to be molded. Their ultimate attributes and personalities are not apparent but come from years of learning and experience.  Like a butterfly from a chrysalis, they emerge and are emergent in the sense of being unpredictable.

Trustees can feel responsible for students and schools in their jurisdiction but we are often told to focus only on governance, that is on the making of institutional rules or policy. This message is delivered by lawyers at orientation meetings shortly after municipal elections and it is often hammered home in many local and provincial governance sessions that follow. While this might sound appealing to a few lawyers and policy wonks, the thought of attending meetings debating school board policy is for the average person something akin to envisioning the seventh level of hell.  If that's all there was to the job, few would want it.  The reality is that trustees do far more because we can wield influence.

Let me explain what I mean.  If a politician is able to help bring about the passage of a law, let's say one that prohibits smoking in a public place, that is political power.  If a politician works with others and aids in the development of a program that encourages people to stop smoking, that is influence.  In both cases, the outcome is similar in that the harmful effects of smoking are reduced.

Consider societal changes you've likely seen in your lifetime.  A generation ago, no one thought about drinking and driving.  Now thanks to the effort and influence of organizations like MADD, most people consider the effects of alcohol before getting behind the wheel. There's not only been a legal shift in the norm but a cultural shift too and it's often the cultural one that most influences human behaviour.

Today, school trustees wield more influence than power.  We come from all walks of life and few of us are teachers or educators.  This is a good thing as it allows us to see the school system differently and it gives us an ability to bring other considerations into the mix.  Many trustees have volunteered in community or political organizations, schools and school board committees, for years before running for political office. We often come to the job with a firm understanding of the personalities and structures that shape our school boards. Trustees have contacts in the community who can bridge gaps and we sometimes bring them together to create now opportunities for children. Sometimes we act as advocates for children and families and discover in the process that a solution can often be found not from stating the case but by knowing whom to call.

As a trustee, I have been fortunate to be in the right place at the right time to occasionally make a difference for numerous students. I am proud to have supported the Empower Reading and the Pathways to Education programs in Ottawa.  Both these initiatives have proven to be invaluable for many. 

I'll finish up with one last story.  On a sunny winter day almost two years ago, I lay in a hospital bed receiving chemotherapy.  Two sweet high school volunteers came by and asked what I needed.  Not knowing what to say, I sent one off for a cup of soup and the other off for crackers.

A third volunteer then stopped by my bed and pulled up a chair.  She was about my age and it turned out that she was in remission from cancer  She asked my name and when I told her, she said, "I know you." This isn't an uncommon a response as we trustees often have our names posted on signs in public places for weeks before an election. But this time was different.

Gail told me that she and her husband had adopted a child later in life and that as a young girl, her daughter had struggled in school.  Nothing seemed to work and in desperation, Gail had called me.  She said that somehow I had worked magic and from that moment on, her daughter did better in school.

There are rewards in life that aren't tangible and so it is with the role of trustee.  After Gail left my bedside, I tried to remember the phone call.  I imagined that on that occasion, I did what I usually do and simply called the principal to say I had received a call from a parent with concerns for her child.  Without interference, I had shone a spotlight on this child. The magic had come from the principal and the girl's teacher who with their attention and subsequent concern had made a difference.  Still as the school trustee, I too had been given a brief chance to hold this child in the palm of my hand ... and she shimmered.


The views expressed in this post are personal opinions only.

Crazy suburban development and the growth in new schools

Yesterday, my son and I had a wonderful experience.  We visited his former grade 6 teacher, M. Brisebois. I wrote about M. Brisebois in an earlier post.  High school teachers tend to run into their former students.  I know they're thrilled when a young person approaches them and says, "Hello Ms. Jones.  Do you remember me?  I'm Aaron and I was in your class four years ago."

My teacher friends love this!  They regale me with the details of what their former students are doing now and what nice young adults they've become. They remember their students clearly and with great fondness, even the ones who acted out in class! Don't ever be afraid to say hello to your former teacher.

It's often different for elementary teachers as young students are not as easily recognizable later on.  And it's more likely too that a child's family or the teacher has moved on in the intervening years. For an elementary teacher, it's a rare experience to speak to a former student and likely a real treat.

So it was with M. Brisebois yesterday.  He met us at the school office grinning from ear to ear.   He hadn't changed over the years but clearly my son has.  M. Brisebois mentioned that he wasn't sure he'd recognize Gabriel on the street, which is understandable given that not many elementary students sport facial hair.

We were given a little tour of the school.  Clearly M. Brisebois hadn't changed in other ways too as the entrance of his classroom was decked out like the portal of a spaceship. Gabe is now a little too tall for the grade-4 spaceship but as you can see, the spaceship comes fully equipped with a time machine and a space-reading helmet (decorated plastic colander) for each child.  One child could even be seen jumping through a space warp <wink>.  Nothing's too good for our kids!

But I digress.  On my way to the school in one of Ottawa's growing suburbs, I passed a French elementary school and then pulled into the parking lot of the school next door, thinking it was our school.  Turns out, it was a Catholic elementary school and our school was the third in line.  Imagine this if you can. Three large elementary schools all lined up in a row, each one likely capable of holding 500 students.  Our school now accommodates over 600 students and there are 12 portable classrooms already, the maximum allowable for the site.  I don't know where we'll put the extra students next year as the kindergarten class will likely double in size with the introduction of full-day kindergarten.

I suspect the two other schools are more than filled too.  But why are there three schools rather than one or two?  Why three schools in-a-row on a main street rather than scattered within walking distance inside the subdivision?  And why the extraordinary growth in outer-ring subdivisions when there are single-family homes in older suburbs with schools and classroom space available nearby?

I read an article this past weekend stating that Canada has become a suburban nation. The majority of us live in suburbs.  But here's the thing, families aren't settling in the perfectly good older suburbs that come fully equipped with uncrowded schools, libraries, and community centres with pools and skating rinks.  Oh no, instead young families are buying brand-new homes in the far-out suburbs, which creates added expense in terms of new school and facility construction, new infrastructure construction, additional commute time, additional car use, more pollution, and a reduction in arable farmland.

Meanwhile in my middle city area, there are some lovely neighbourhoods and family homes without families. This creates a doughnut effect as condos are built downtown to house empty-nesters and new homes are built on the outskirts.  People aren't crazy so why is this happening?

From what I can see, the cost of new home construction is indirectly subsidized by government and tax revenue. Overall this artificially keeps the price of new homes down while it keeps the demand up.  When new home buyers pay school development charges, they pay to purchase the land only.  All other costs, the school construction and outfitting, are paid for by the school board and the provincial government.

Now these families could choose to buy a house in an older suburb, where schools and other amenities are already in place.  But they choose instead to purchase a house farther out because developers don't have to pass along the real costs of providing schools and infrastructure for the new subdivision and are thereby able to keep the cost of the new houses artificially low.  While there's money to be made in renovating and rebuilding older homes, I suspect the profit margins are better in the subdivisions where developers can go in and build many houses at a time.

Although this all sounds rather complicated, it could be fixed.  If Education Development Charges that are levied for new house construction truly reflected the actual costs of building schools rather than simply the land price, these new homes would become more costly to build.  The purchase price of new subdivision houses would increase accordingly and older suburban homes in established neighbourhoods would become more competitively priced.  Suburban sprawl would be thereby constrained, new school demand slowed, and the number of school portables would be reduced.  I suspect this is true for municipal development charges but what do I know?  I'm just a school trustee. What I do know is that it will never happen as long as developers continue to hold disproportionate political sway in our communities and in our province.


The views expressed in this blog are personal opinions only.