Ontario NDP member resigns seat, cites child-care challenges

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.

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.

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.