My question is for the Minister of Education. I’ll get the page to pass over these CUPE education support workers forms to him as well.

Students deserve an ECE in every classroom.

Parents need an EA for every student who needs personal care to attend school.

People across Ontario depend on custodians and cleaners to protect the health of our children.

Instead of money for ECEs in every classroom or additional funds for EAs, the government passes the burden to parents to hunt down scarce private resources.

Why doesn’t the Conservative government think that it’s worth properly investing in the people and the public school supports that parents already have available in our schools to help their children catch up and be successful?

Sean and Julia are the parents of two children with autism in my riding. They reached out to my office to express how much our education support workers mean to them and to their children:

“These workers keep June and Chaz safe. They help them to learn and be successful and happy at school each and every day.

“More support workers are needed to help support kids like ours to integrate into mainstream classes. When schools don’t have the staff, parents like us have to pay ABA staff out of pocket or our kids can’t go to mainstream class to work on integration.

“When your family relies on education support workers for the well-being and safety of your child and this government creates conditions that drive them from the profession it’s really scary.

“These workers are truly essential.”

This is not about money. This is about knowing that the workers that children get to know, workers that parents trust and depend on, will not only be here for their kids today but will continue to be there for the kids in the future.

My question is, when will the Premier admit that wanting kids with exceptional needs to have support for the entire school day—not just a fraction of the day—is not about money but it’s about kids?

Interjections.

The minister says there have been 2,246 lost days since 1988, but in terms of school years, that’s 11 and a half years—

Interjections.

The minister has been saying there have been 2,246 lost days since 1988; in terms of school years, that would be 11 and a half years. Nobody is buying the spin.

People are tired of the minister’s games. Parents saw through what the Conservatives did last time.

My question is, when will the Conservative government take the time and energy they waste on spin and just sit down and negotiate a fair deal that will put education support workers in every class and keep them there?