Sunday January 25th 2026 was the single snowiest day in the history of Toronto. 46 cm of snow fell at Pearson International Airport in Mississauga, ON; surpassing the previous record of 36.8cm which fell at Pearson on January 23, 1966.
The winter storm was not unexpected. It was widely reported across various news outlets that it would snow, and that it would snow a lot. The reports were accurate (for a change!). Activities, events, programs, and flights were cancelled; rightfully so. People were warned to stay off the roads. The warnings and cancellations were warranted on Sunday.
But Monday things were a different story!
The snow stopped across the GTA on Sunday evening around 930-10PM. Cities and Municipalities had at least 12 hours to do their thing to clear the roadways, sidewalks and other routes. That should be plenty of time for cities who are no strangers to winter and snow. I have no doubt that a city like Montreal could handle that sort of turnaround time. They are a serious winter city. Toronto is not.
Yet, cities and municipalities across the GTA seemingly could not handle it. Schools were cancelled quite fast, with little to no resistance, discussion or debate.
It was once a policy for school boards to stay open at all costs. Dozens of feet of snow would not stop the schools from closing. Buses, sure..They would stop running. But not schools. Get the kids in school, so that they can socialize and learn. . Even if it was just for a handful of students who came. It’s no wonder why those who were in school 20+ years ago are more resilient and socially normalized. They were forced to deal with adversity and adverse conditions. They grew and became adults. I fear our children will remain children because of things like this.
We can all understand why buses to schools should cancel if the roads are less than ideal. But having the entire school cancel when over 80% of TDSB students can walk to school or live within a 1km distance from their school; when the city had over 12 hours to plow the main sidewalks and the school boards had all of that time to plow their parking lot? I bet you that over 80 percent of your street’s driveways or parking lots for apartment complexes were cleared of snow this morning (or last night when the snow stopped). We learned from COVID that kids belong amongst other kids, and belong in school. They do not belong at home glazing over screens in the name of “remote learning“. How much remote learning can these children handle? Their eyes are growing more empty and blank by the Snow Day.
As an aside, the roads sure looked plowed to me this morning.
In 2026 school boards are fast to cancel; folding like a house of cards. They set poor examples when it comes to resilience, showing the backbone of a sea snail. It’s a terrible example for children. When the going gets tough, the school boards are happy to pack it in and call it a day.
The cancellations come fast in the name of “safety“. As a personal injury lawyer and a father of two, I can tell you that the decision to cancel schools so quickly when there is little to no snow actively falling has very little to do with safety. Rather, it has to do with money, or saving money that is. It also has to do with the school boards and municipalities opting to choose the path of least resistance rather than a path which requires organization, work, thought and effort.
It would take a clear plan, thought, work and effort to clear the snow from the parking lots, walking paths and city streets and sidewalks in a timely manner for the kids to get to school. It can be done and it has been done in the past. But why put forth the time, effort, and potential payment of overtime wages when you don’t have to…..
It might be hard on the teachers, admin and caretakers to drive into work if the roads are not cleared and less than optimal. The roads can be cleared and is has been done in the past and can be done again. But that too would take work, effort, and the potential payment of overtime wages. But, why put forth the maximum effort when the City can take it’s time in getting the job done slowly and for less money.
If people are out and about, then there is a gre
What the school closures serve is to reduce productivity. Parents need to miss work, or cannot be as productive at work as they would otherwise be. Childcare needs to be paid for if the parents cannot miss work, which is expensive. Or, maybe the kids just stay at home completely alone; left to do as they wish completely unsupervised. None of these situations are ideal. But, that’s what the school boards and the government are expecting of parents. At the same time, they still make excessive demands on parents in the form of taxes. When was the last time you got a municipal tax holiday due to inclement weather? On one hand they expect you to parent on a work day. On the other hand, they expect you to earn an income to pay for their “services” which they either fail to provide or do a poor job at providing. If you were to give the cities and municipalities a Google Review, it would be the lowest possible review. And yet, it didn’t have to be this way. It didn’t snow today. The roads and sidewalks are clear. There is no reason to keep the kids home and away from school when this sort of thing happens. It’s not good for anyone.