샌디 리 전문위원

Canada is a federal state, which means that the federal government and provincial and territorial governments have exclusive jurisdictions (legal responsibility) over different matters.   

In matters like health care, it's a "blended" area of jurisdiction because the federal government sets the standards and provides the funding under the Canada Health Act, but the provincial and territorial governments are responsible for delivering the programs to their people.  This is one reason you've been seeing a public health office for every province and territory on T.V., speaking about the Corona-19 pandemic.

Education is an area where the provinces and territories have the sole jurisdiction, except for the indigenous peoples, which is a federal responsibility.  The provincial and territorial governments set out broad policy guidelines for all K-12 schools within their jurisdictions. The schools are operated by another layer of government, which are the trustees within each school district.  These trustees are elected by voters just like the politicians at the provincial and federal levels.  There are sixty school districts in B.C.  

The federal system is one reason Canada will not see a "national plan" for children going back to school safely during the pandemic.   The province will not impose a province-wide policy that is uniform for every school. Under the federal system, it is understood that each school district is responsible for managing the well-being of the students and staff in their care.  

K-12 schools are funded with the money from school tax in municipalities and transfers from the provincial treasury.  In this context, the $2B transfer under "the Safe Return to Class Fund" from Canada for the K-12 students nationwide is extraordinary and speaks to the unprecedented time of the pandemic we are living in.  

Federal Government Funding

On August 26, 2020, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unveiled "the Safe Return to Class Fund" of $2B to "help provinces and territories by supporting adapted learning spaces, improved air ventilation, increased hand sanitation and hygiene, and purchase of personal protective equipment and cleaning supplies."  

This is in addition to the $19B "Safe Restart Agreement" announced by the Prime Minister on July 16, 2020.   

The funding formula is uncharacteristically straight forward for federal-provincial funding arrangements like this, which take months of negotiations and fine-tuning the detail.  Each province will receive an amount based on the number of K-12 students they have, from the latest Statistics Canada data. B.C. is eligible for up to $242.4 million.

This is how the $2 Billion funding breaks down for each province and territory:

Alberta: $262.8 million

British Columbia: $242.4 million

Manitoba: $85.4 million

New Brunswick: $39.8 million

Newfoundland and Labrador: $26.2 million

Northwest Territories: $4.9 million

Nova Scotia: $47.9 million

Nunavut: $5.8 million

Ontario: $763.3 million

Prince Edward Island: $10.4 million

Quebec: $432.2 million

Saskatchewan: $74.9 million

Yukon: $4.2 million

Extra $242.4 million for B.C. is a lot of money.  Already, the province allocated $45.6 million extra to address the specific needs under their Back to School Plan:

•        $23 million for more staff and staff time for cleaning schools

•        $9.2 million for hand hygiene

•        $5.1 million for cleaning supplies

•        $2.2 million for reusable face masks for students and staff

•        $3 million to support remote learning, including:

•        Technology loans

•        Software to support students with disabilities or complex needs

•        $3.1 million to independent schools

The BC Government has not indicated how it plans to spend $242.2 million extra back to school money from the federal government.    

But the BC Federation of Teachers knows what it wants the B.C. government to do with the extra money (insert the press release). It wants B.C. residents to lobby the government around these demands:  

•    Smaller class sizes and reduced school density to allow for physical distancing.

•    Stronger mask regulations for when physical distancing isn’t possible.

•    Options for remote learning for students who need it.

•    Funding to improve cleaning and ventilation.

The Federation says that the B.C. Government's back to school plan was finalized before the federal funding announcement. It should be revised and enhanced before the students go back to school in September.

Some parents have been advocating for more resources for their own children with special needs. Others have resorted to filing a lawsuit asking the government to mandate the wearing of masks and reduce class size:

While no school or government would turn down extra funding for students, the timing of the delay presents challenges.  Schools have to plan short and long term.  So do the parents and students.  

Making adjustments, small and big, and improving air ventilation, sanitization stations, or class sizes all take planning.  Students returned to school the day after the announcement in Quebec.  Ontario students are going back to school this week, followed by the B.C. students next week.

Under heavy criticism for the delay in announcement, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Dominic LeBlanc, said on the CBC program, "the House," "It's better late than never."  

Quoted in Power and Politics on CBC, Prime Minister Trudeau insisted felt compelled to provide the extra funding because of the need for more support he had heard from his M.P.'s and parents across Canada.  In his view, if provinces have a list of things to do to keep students safe but could only do a few things, perhaps this could help them get everything on that list.

While the debate on how to best to spend the extra money will continue, the process laid out by the federal government is quite simple. Provinces will have to sign an agreement to get the first half of the funding this fall. 

By December, provinces and territories will have to report to the federal government about how the money was spent to receive the second instalment of the fund. This funding is available to be used for the 2020/2021 school year.