Lecce's double whammy
And get your budget wish list ready
ABOVE THE FOLD
SCHOOLED — Education Minister STEPHEN LECCE’s files are going under the microscope.
Specifically: Ontario Ombudsman PAUL DUBÉ has launched a systemic investigation into the Ford government’s pandemic-era programs that put cash into parents’ pockets to help their kids catch up on learning.
The problem: The provincial watchdog has already received about 200 complaints from parents who were denied payments for their children because somebody else had already claimed the cash. “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,” Dubé said.
What’s more is that “some were in sole-custody situations or even had restraining orders against the other parent. Some discovered that a relative who had no role in caring for the child had claimed the money, and there was no recourse to get it back.”
For now, Lecce’s office isn’t sweating it, saying they’re working with the …