My question is to the Minister of Education. The Toronto District School Board is facing a $26.5-million budget deficit. This is after $17 million in cuts to programs and services for the upcoming year. The Conservative government has cut $1,347 per student since 2018. The chair of the board has written to the minister, saying programs students rely on are in jeopardy.

Will the minister address the TDSB’s structural deficit to avoid further drastic cuts?

My question is to the Minister of Education. The Ford Conservative government is refusing to reimburse the $61 million the TDSB was forced to spend from their reserves during the pandemic. The government knows that school boards cannot run deficits, which means the TDSB is being forced to make cuts. Now, across Toronto, schools are learning that staff positions will be cut: teachers, education assistants, counsellors, vice-principals—522 staff positions cut. This government is starving the public education system.

Speaker, we know Conservatives don’t like public health care. Are they now after our public education system too?