FORD GOVERNMENT LOOKING AT ‘EVERY OPTION’ AS SCHOOL BOARDS STRUGGLE TO FIND TEACHERS

The province is looking at “every option available” to help ease a shortage of teachers that has hit school boards across Ontario, says Education Minister Stephen Lecce.

“We’ll have an announcement forthcoming,” Lecce told reporters at Queen’s Park on Tuesday as the legislature resumed for the spring session.

“But obviously we’re looking at a multitude of actions to continue to increase teacher supply” and have already added funding for thousands of new teachers and educational workers, Lecce said. “But it’s clear that more action must be taken and we’re seriously looking at a suite of options to ensure we’ve got the adequate supply of qualified educators to teach kids and to inspire them around the back-to-basics curriculum, and to respond to the growing population that we expect in Ontario for the coming years.”