FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
May 19, 2016
SIMCOE – Haldimand-Norfolk MPP Toby Barrett said students are being shortchanged after the Auditor General confirmed earlier this week the government paid $80 million to education-sector unions since 2008.
Opposition Education Critic Lisa MacLeod requested the Auditor General investigate after it was discovered the Ministry of Education made $2.5 million in payments to three teachers’ unions with no accountability mechanism in place. The Auditor General found the government payments to teachers’ unions totaled more than $80 million since 2008, and $22 million of that was unaccounted for.
“This is money that could have gone towards guidance counsellors, special education supports and scholl infrastructure repairs,” Barrett said. “Instead, the Liberals are closing demonstration schools, kicking children off autism therapy wait lists, closings rural schools and forcing parents to fundraise for basic school needs.”
The Auditor General found the Ministry of Education needs to improve transparency and accountability as they often tried to hide payments by sending the money through school boards to hide the true recipients of the funds.
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on the Ontario Liberal Party to repay this money into the education system.
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For more information, contact MPP Toby Barrett at 519-428-0446 or toby.barrett@pc.ola.org