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Names: Suzanne and Mark Locke
Employment status: Both are full-time elementary school teachers.
What's in the budget for me: "Not much," Suzanne said. "I feel that by paying more sales tax on so many things, they are putting a couple of pennies in one pocket and taking dollars out of another."
Suzanne and Mark Locke give the budget a failing grade when it comes to making affordable, quality daycare available to working parents.
The Maple couple are expecting a baby at the end of June, a sibling for Nathan, 2. When Suzanne returns to work in 2010, daycare will be the family's single biggest expenditure – more than their mortgage. "Right now, I'm not worried; it's $800 a month for Nathan and we can handle that," Suzanne said. "But when I go back to work next year, we will be paying $1,900."
Even with a combined household income in the six figures, the couple will find paying daycare for two a tight squeeze, she said. Suzanne, 33, is concerned that, other than some infrastructure money for new schools, there is little in the budget for education. … Mark, a 32-year-old Grade 1 teacher, is worried the harmonized tax will push the costs of goods and services ever higher.
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- reprinted from the Toronto Star