27-05-2025
Advocacy group calls for relief measures for Guelph schools without air conditioning
With warmer temperatures on the way in Guelph, a children's health advocate group is seeking relief for students and teachers across Canada who are stuck in classrooms without air conditioning.
Currently, there are 10 schools in the Upper Grand District School Board (UGDSB) that do not have air conditioning.
Erica Phipps, executive director of the Canadian Partnership for Children's Health and Environment (CPCHE), said there's an urgency to address the issue.
'Now is the time to make the plans, make the investments. Set the schedule for school upgrades and start chipping away at that backlog and that need for adequate cooling across all schools.'
According to a recent report from the CPCHE, data shows that extreme heat affects a child's health and learning ability.
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Heather Loney, spokesperson for the UGDSB, said retrofitting older buildings is a challenge.
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Loney said the aging infrastructure poses some challenges when it comes to installing air conditioning in older buildings, including Victory Public School, which is over 100 years old.
'The infrastructure of putting air conditioning into a building such as that would be very different from a better school that was built a few years ago,' Loney said.
Phipps said the group is calling on multiple levels of government to set the temperature threshold in school buildings and educational facilities to 26 C as a matter of policy. The CPCHE has suggested a number of climate resilience measures inside and outside of the classroom that are cost-effective, including installing window blinds or shades to keep some of the incoming solar radiation out of the classroom, appropriate guidance on fans and tree canopies and light-coloured roofs.
In addition to the levels of government, the CPHE's call to action extends to educators and parents in the communities affected.
'We very much encourage parents, educators, young people and others to pick it up and run with it. Take the call to action to your local school board, members of parliament or provincial leadership. We need to make it clear and have a strong, collective voice that action on this is needed,' she said.
Phipps said the upgrades need to be part of routine maintenance and done with a sense of urgency.
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Loney said the board has been routinely implementing measures suggested by the CPCHE, such as light-coloured roofs and tree canopies.
And as part of the board's multi-year plan, she said the UGDSB is looking at opportunities to add green energy technology into those schools and buildings impacted.
