The Parti Québecois took advantage of back-to-school season on Friday to offer a possible solution to parents' concerns about seemingly endless increases to the costs of school supplies. The PQ made the promise in hopes of enticing voters with kids back into the PQ camp by helping parents save time and by helping get their children ready for fall classes.
"A Parti Québécois government will give families more time," said PQ leader Jean-François Lisée. "We will ask elementary and secondary schools to offer all the required school supplies."
Lisée stressed that Quebec families want their lives to be easier and that is what the PQ will do.
The PQ initiative would take the $100 that parents get from the province now and give it to schools (or school boards) to make bulk purchases of common school supplies. However, the PQ was unclear about exactly which organization would be responsible for managing the the bulk purchases.
"The schools or the school boards, you know, it's really free to them to see how they want to organize it," said PQ Deputy leader, Véronique Hivon.
Hivon also said that parents would not be forced to take part in the new initiative.
"People will have the choice to say 'ok, I want the school to take care of it,' or they can decide (to keep the) $100 that is given to each family."
According to Party officials the PQ plan would be a zero-cost to parents, but they couldn't guarantee that parents would get their hundred dollars worth.