Thank you very much. I’d like to thank the labour critic for doing an incredible job for his half-hour—of getting notice late, like we always do, that they’re going to bring in and try to rush this through. I’m going to have a message to the Conservatives, very quickly—

Interjection.

The Minister of Labour.

My question is to the Minister of Education.

My office has been flooded with calls and emails from workers and parents alike outraged that this government seeks to use the “notwithstanding” clause to violate the labour rights of education workers. I heard from Linda in Welland. She has been an administrative clerk for 10 years, and in that time, has seen only a $2 wage increase. When you factor in inflation over that time, she suffered a 10.7% wage cut. Linda says, “The minister has no concept of the work we do. Come and see what we do in our schools. Spend one day with me.”

Can the minister tell Linda why this government continues to forge ahead with legislation that disrespects her work, tramples on her rights and pushes her further into poverty?

Can the minister tell Ella Marie and her colleagues, most of them women, how they are supposed to live on wages that don’t cover the bills and an insulting pay increase that plunges them further into poverty, and why is this Premier acting like a dictator and a thug?