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Ontario NDP member resigns seat, cites child-care challenges

Ontario NDP MPP for Kitchener Centre, Laura Mae Lindo, poses for a portrait in her home, in Kitchener, Ont., Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

The New Democrat member of provincial parliament for Kitchener Centre has officially resigned her seat.

Laura Mae Lindo’s resignation will trigger a byelection call within six months – two other byelections, in Kanata-Carleton and Scarborough-Guildwood, are set for July 27.

Lindo announced her intention to resign earlier this year, saying she would be taking on a new role in the department of philosophy at the University of Waterloo.

In her resignation letter tabled Thursday with the legislative assembly, she says as a single mother working between Toronto and Kitchener her child-care situation is what led her to step down.

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Lindo says her children were 3, 10 and 13 when she was elected in 2018 and she says while she paid for before- and after-care for her kids, overnight child care while she was away working in Toronto was a challenge.

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She says the NDP offered to assist, but it was a taxable benefit, leading to an additional $5,000 to $6,000 a year in costs for her, which became untenable.

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