During Question Period today, I demanded that Premier Stelmach stop hurting Calgary and Edmonton by forcing school boards to close schools in urban cores.

Municipal governments in Edmonton and Calgary are trying to revitalize their downtown cores – but school closures make it impossible to attract families. Up to 70 schools in Edmonton alone could be on the chopping block thanks to the Stelmach administration’s education cutbacks. And if all the schools under review in Calgary were closed that would be that city’s largest closure of schools ever.

A school is the heart of any neighbourhood, but this administration doesn’t care about the very real possibility of hollowing out the metro cores of our two largest cities. These decisions have far-reaching ramifications, and if we don’t want Edmonton and Calgary to look like Detroit in ten or twenty years, the Premier and the Minister of Education should rethink their position.

I support a thorough review of the way government handles school closures, and demand that plans to close schools cease until that review is complete.

Five years ago, former Education Minister Gene Zwozdesky indicated that the procedure for closing schools should be reviewed. Last month, current Education Minister Dave Hancock again said “We are looking at our school closure regulations.” Why should we believe him, when five years have already gone by since the Tories last made this promise?

Closing down schools also defeats much of the purpose of the Stelmach administration’s own land-use framework to reduce sprawl and encourage development of city cores.

The right hand of this administration doesn’t know what the left is doing. The Premier needs to sort out his contradictory policies so that school boards and municipalities can work together to revitalize our cities.

I encourage parents and community leaders in Edmonton and Calgary’s cores to write or call their MLA, the Minister of Education and the Premier.

We all need to stand up for local schools.

Contact the Premier

Contact Dave Hancock- Minister of Education