Ontario ombudsman to investigate education payments to parents

Ontario’s ombudsman has announced an investigation into a pandemic education policy announced by the Ford government that gave parents cash to boost their children’s learning.

The ombudsman, Paul Dubé, announced Monday he would be launching a “systemic investigation” into direct payments handed out by the Ministry of Education to parents.

His office said the investigation had been triggered by concerns about “a lack of fairness and transparency.”

The ombudsman is an independent officer of the legislature with investigative powers that include government organizations and municipalities.

The direct payments investigation is going to include several policies: Support for Parents, the Ontario COVID-19 Child Benefit and Catch Up Payments. The policies were offered from early 2020 onwards, the ombudsman said.

“The programs sparked complaints from parents who were denied payments for the children in their custody because someone else had claimed the money first,” the ombudsman said.

“We heard disturbing accounts from parents who were not only denied funding for the children in their care – they were not told who received the payments.”

Some parents with sole custody and restraining orders against the other were denied funding, the ombudsman said, because the other parents had claimed the money.

A spokesperson for Education Minister Stephen Lecce said the province is working with the ombudsman and argued the Ford government “stepped up” when called up in an “unprecedented” time with the payments.

“While we fully welcome advice from the Ontario Ombudsman’s office, we are proud to have delivered direct payment programs to 2.2 million students and families across Ontario, providing needed financial support at a critical time,” the spokesperson said.

Dubé said he had received complaints from parents about various versions of the program. His office received around 200 complaints about the programs, he said.

“Our investigation will look for the root of the problem and recommend ways to make these programs fair and transparent going forward,” Dubé said.

The Ontario NDP said the program was badly thought out and said it had expressed its concerns when the program came out.

“Right from the start, it was clear that the payments intended for parents fell short, especially for families already struggling to make ends meet and children in desperate need of additional educational support,” NDP education critic Chandra Pasma said.

No timeline has been set for the investigation.

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