Education Minister Stephen Lecce has pledged that the future is bright for full-day kindergarten.

Asked by reporters to make a commitment to the popular all-day learning for 4- and 5-year-old children that was implemented by the previous Liberal government — and following weeks of concerns raised by teacher and support staff unions — Lecce confirmed the Ford government is a fan of the program.

“My message is, when it comes to all-day kindergarten, is to strengthen that capacity,” he said at Queen’s Park on Tuesday, the same day 140,000 public elementary and secondary teachers launched a work-to-rule campaign amid a difficult round of contract talks.

“I have no plans at my table to change it,” Lecce said. “My obligation is to maintain and strengthen all-day learning for youngsters. It’s worked in this province and it’s something that’s seen as a model around the continent and my aim is to strengthen it over time.”

The government, he added, believes that “the model is working and there’s no plan on my desk to change it.”

Earlier this year, previous education minister Lisa Thompson — and Premier Doug Ford himself — prompted speculation that changes were in the works when they would only commit to all-day “learning,” and only for this school year.

After an outcry, Thompson said in the legislature in February that “we are absolutely committed to full-day learning for 4- and 5-year-olds across the province.”

However, many educators worried that Thompson’s use of “full-day learning” was a signal that changes were on the way, especially regarding the current staffing model of one full-time teacher and one full-time early childhood educator in most kindergarten classrooms.

During its recent collective bargaining with the province, the Canadian Union of Public Employees — which represents early childhood educators — and more recent talks with the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario (ETFO), both unions asked government negotiators for assurances about the future of full-day kindergarten.

“The minister has said publicly on at least two occasions that he supports the current model of kindergarten without any changes,” elementary teachers’ ETFO president Sam Hammond said in a statement.

“If that’s the case, then he needs to let his representatives at the bargaining table know because ETFO proposed the same idea months ago and still hasn’t received a response from the government.”

ETFO also represents early childhood educators in some boards.

NDP education critic Marit Stiles noted on social media that while Lecce made the commitment, he has “refused to say whether he would maintain the model to end of their government’s term.”

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