Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday January 18, 2020
$60 payout ‘putting money back in parents’ pockets’, education minister says
May 4, 2019
The minister of education is offering parents money for childcare costs incurred during rotating teachers’ strikes.
Stephen Lecce says parents can apply for amounts from $25 to $60 per day for children under twelve.
Lecce says if all unions were to walk out, subsidies for childcare would amount to $48 million a day.
“Just for clarity, every day that all unions withdraw services, that full withdraw saves the government $60 million dollars in salaries,” Lecce said. “So the concept here is we know that’s not our money, it’s our tax dollars, we’re using it. It’s the savings from their withdrawal of service.”
November 22, 2019
Parents of pre-schoolers at school-based child-care centres affected by the strikes will get the most money. Those with children in grades 1 through 7 will get less and parents of high school students will get nothing.
Lecce said the government’s motivation for the payout was to put money “back in the pockets of working people in Ontario.”
“At the end of the day the greatest constituency that bears the costs of this are parents and middle and low-income families who have to find childcare on short order,” he said.
As for criticisms that the payout was a bribe to parents, Lecce said he wasn’t surprised it was being spun by teachers’ unions as such.
August 29, 2019
“I think union leaders, respectfully, must accept the premise that there’s a cost when a child is staying home,” he said. “We have examples, real human examples, of individuals and low-income families and single parent families where they have to take vacation days.”
“Those will eventually add up,” Lecce said. “So it is absolutely in the interests of the taxpayer to return that money to them to make their life a little bit better and a little less difficult during this time of turmoil.”
“And it underscores our commitment to standing with families against this escalation.” (CBC)