He used to be Stephen Harper’s Boy Wonder but today he is supposedly guarding Gotham as sidekick to Ontario premier Doug Ford. His role is that of minister of education. He is probably taking a holiday from the criticism and condemnation he gets in that job. Maybe he took one of those Sunwing Airlines’ fun-filled one-way flights to Mexico. We have no idea.
Mr. Lecce seems to be missing in action at a time when Ontario parents would like to have a properly functioning education system teaching their children the Three-Rs. There is a need for two million children to be in school and there is very little being done about it.
A low-level person from Mr. Ford’s office issued a statement from him that schools would not re-open until January 17. At the same time someone from Mr. Lecce’s office informed the media that retired Ontario educators will be allowed more teaching days so that they can fill the gaps for teachers with Covid. We will not be told how many teachers or children have Covid from now on as no statistics from schools are being announced to the public. The exception will be when a school has to close.
But announcements from the minister of education’s office are not going to cut it when children are suffering under the confusion. And the parents, and, in some cases, the grandparents, are trying to pick up the slack for an education system that seems to be functioning on the whims of people who do not understand the system.
It seems that some communications experts are telling the politicians that they should not always take the direct blame for the problems. Maybe their advice is the same as when the federal conservatives were involved in an election and did not want to be seen with their provincial counterparts. They were probably told to hide.
And maybe Mr. Lecce is hiding. There is no excuse for someone who has no understanding or sympathy for the public school system to be in his position. It has been said that communications people seem to have big egos. Maybe that is Mr. Lecce’s problem.
-30-
Copyright 2022 © Peter Lowry
Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to: