QUEEN’S PARK – Mitzie Hunter, MPP for Scarborough–Guildwood and Ontario Liberal Education critic, has released the following statement in response to Minister Lecce legislating education workers back to work:
“Ontario’s education workers keep our schools running and play a critical role in our children’s lives. Yet today, by legislating education workers back to work under the threat of fines and the notwithstanding clause, Doug Ford and Stephen Lecce have told these heroes that they are not valued, and that the government’s bottom line is more important than their ability to feed their families.
“It is unacceptable that some of the most important workers in our education system, who are among the lowest paid in the sector, are struggling to put food on the table – at the same time the government posts a $2.1 billion surplus and is on track to underfund our education system by a further $6.0 billion.
“Instead of funding his surplus on the backs of the lowest-paid education workers – who are predominantly women – Doug Ford and Stephen Lecce must get back to the negotiating table and hammer out a fair deal.”
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