TORONTO – NDP Leader Andrea Horwath is calling on teachers and education workers across Ontario to demand that parents and students are put first as the McGuinty government prepares their provincial budget.
“Will this budget put people first and ensure we have excellent schools for our kids? Or are we going to leave parents holding bake sales to get classroom basics while we sell off public assets and pour public money into tax cuts for Ontario’s biggest corporations?” said Horwath. “It’s time to start putting the priorities of Ontarians first.”
Speaking at the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) Annual Meeting of Provincial Assembly, Horwath recalled her own education and how it drove her to seek public office. She noted that recent moves by the government to consider asset sales and push scarce resources into corporate tax cuts show the McGuinty Liberals are losing touch with people’s priorities – like quality schools for their children.
Horwath particularly noted the challenges facing children and parents waiting for special education support. Parents are waiting for months to formally identify the exact nature of their child’s learning-related difficulties – and while they wait for remedial help – children often develop other learning difficulties.
“In countless schools there are students who have been identified with special needs, but who are not receiving the support that was recommended for them,” said Horwath. “When we ask the McGuinty Liberals when the 36,000 elementary and 4,800 secondary students who are waiting for special education services will finally see some support – we only hear silence.”
