(August 7, 2023, St. John’s) – Barry Petten, PC Official Opposition Shadow Minister for Education and MHA for Conception Bay South, hopes Premier Andrew Furey will finally announce the end of the restrictions on the busing of students who live within 1.6 kilometres of their school – an issue Petten, his colleagues and countless parents have been pressing relentlessly since 2018.

“For more than five years, despite our constant calls for action and the petitions and protests of countless parents, the Liberals until now have refused to budge on the 1.6 km school busing restrictions, which have left many children to walk to and from school along roadways that are busier than ever, in all sorts of weather conditions,” said Petten.

“The safety of our children must be paramount, and should be motivation enough for the government to get this policy changed.”

A commitment to change the 1.6 km busing rule was a PC election policy in both 2019 and 2021. Petten brought a private member’s resolution to the House of Assembly in 2018 to end the restrictions, but the Liberals to date have not acted.

As recently as June 2021, the government said in the House it was not looking at changing the policy.

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