MILTON, Ont. - Ontario's governing Liberals are promising free eyeglasses for kids in junior kindergarten who need them.
Premier Dalton McGuinty says he wants to encourage parents to take their young children to the optometrist by waiving about $300 in dispensing and eyeglasses fees.
He says it's hard to learn if you can't see, and an estimated 14,000 students in junior kindergarten need glasses.
Three different providers will supply the free glasses, with the program hoping to test more than 117,000 JK students across all the province's school boards by 2015.
A program is already in place in Hamilton, but it will be expanded to 14 school boards this September, a month before voters head to the polls for the Oct. 6 election.
McGuinty says the program will cost taxpayers about $200,000 a year, with the majority of the costs being paid by optometrists and private sector partners.
Eye exams are free for children under 19, as well as seniors and diabetics, but that doesn't cover dispensing fees or the cost of eyeglasses.
