Commentary
The Alberta government is providing $10 million to help Grade 1 students catch up in math and reading. This is on top of a previously announced $110 million over the next three years for students experiencing mental and academic challenges resulting from the pandemic.
Other provinces are also opening the spending taps. Last fall, the Ontario government announced it will give parents “catch-up” payments of $200 per child, which can be spent on tutoring or other academic supports. The total cost of these payments is estimated to be $365 million.
Not to be outdone, the Manitoba government recently announced a 6.1 percent increase in total education funding, the highest increase in decades. Meanwhile, British Columbia continues to spend more on schools every year, and plans to spend $60 million on an affordability fund to ensure students have school supplies….