NDP: Conservatives failed Catch Up program left students behind

OTTAWA - Chandra Pasma (Ottawa—West Nepean), Official Opposition NDP critic for Education, responded to today’s announcement that the Ontario Ombudsman is investigating the Ontario Ministry of Education's ‘Catch Up Payment’ programs for parents and students due to a lack of fairness:

"This program was an attempt by the Conservatives to make up for the lack of support students receive in our schools due to their government's cuts. From the beginning, we expressed concerns about the details of this initiative, and sadly, the reports of inequities only confirm our worst fear. This botched program was a clear waste of public dollars.

"Right from the start, it was clear that the payments intended for parents fell short, especially for families already struggling to make ends meet and children in desperate need of additional educational support," emphasized Pasma. "The money allocated to each family would have only covered 1-2 hours of tutoring, basically the equivalent of an introductory class. I would have liked to see these investments channeled back into our education system—hiring more teachers, education workers, and mental health professionals.

"Parents were led to believe this program would help them afford tutoring and programs to bring their kids up to speed with their peers. We are talking about parents who shouldered the burden of being full-time workers while taking on the role of educators during the pandemic. Instead of helping them, Minister Lecce fumbled the ball with mismanagement and poor planning. The simple solution was for Minister Lecce to increase the number of caring adults in classrooms, a measure the NDP has advocated for over a year."