My question is for the Minister of Education. Ontario’s education system must prioritize teaching students the skills they need to succeed. The most fundamental of skills that students must learn are reading and writing. Without a comprehensive understanding of these two subjects, we know that students cannot progress with their learning in a meaningful way. This situation has been made all the more serious as an outcome of disruption to in-person learning.

This is why it is imperative to help our students gain or regain proficiency in these subjects, so they are able to excel in their classrooms and in their lives. Speaker, can the minister please explain how our government is supporting reading and writing skills development for our students?

However, there are other fundamental skills our students need to learn, as many of the jobs of the future require an understanding in math and other STEM subjects. Students’ math scores across North America and in Ontario have seen an alarming decline over the past several years. With the return to in-person learning this school year, our government must have a comprehensive plan to help our students develop their math skills.

Speaker, can the minister please describe how our government is supporting math learning recovery, as well as plans to continue improved mathematics understanding for Ontarian students?

I want to thank the member for Markham–Unionville and all members of the House for their support on the work we’re doing to boost literacy in this province, by lifting standards, by demanding better and by investing in a plan that goes back to the basics so that our young people can master the skills that matter most—reading, writing and math.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday I was proud to join the parliamentary assistant to announce $180 million of investment to lift standards and outcomes for young people in the province, to hire a thousand front-line reading specialist educators and math educators, to double the amount of math coaches.

Specific to reading: Supporting the Ontario Human Rights Commission’s Right to Read report, we are introducing the largest reading screening in the country. Every child from senior kindergarten to grade 2 will be screened this coming September. A new, overhauled language curriculum that follows the science of reading—again, recommended by the Ontario Human Rights Commission—and more staff in place to help those kids who need support to get up to the provincial standard: This is supported by the Canadian Children’s Literacy Foundation, by Dyslexia Canada, by Community Literacy of Ontario and many others who are urging us to move forward with—

We’re going to double the amount of math coaches in our schools. We’re going to ensure every school board in Ontario has one senior lead whose singular mission is improvement in their board. We have a math improvement action team in the ministry for the first time. We’re going to deploy it to school boards who have historically been underperforming. That lower 20% of schools that still need to do better—we now have the means, the investment and the resources to raise those standards.

Mr. Speaker, in addition to mandating new curriculum that is relevant to young people, like life and job skills, we’re investing, with over 381 new math educators in the classroom. This is all designed to lift standards for better schools, better outcomes and better jobs for the young people of this province.