Is Tim Hudak crossing his fingers for new moms to leave the public sector?

Newsflash to Ontario Progressive Conservative leader Tim Hudak: a job-cutting plan shouldn’t bank on women leaving the workforce after they have a baby.

But that seems to be what PC MPP Lisa MacLeod said over the weekend when she appeared on Sun News Network to defend her party’s campaign pledge to cut 100,000 public sector employees if the Ontario PCs form government.

MacLeod emphasized how “a lot” would be through attrition — “whether there’s maternity leaves or retirement.”

Unlike firings, attrition means a person leaves their job voluntarily and they are not replaced, so the position disappears.

“They also understand that there will be a lot of attrition through that period of time, whether there’s maternity leaves or retirement, there will be attrition so that will look after a lot of it,” said MacLeod, who took to Twitter on Tuesday to clarify she didn’t mean firing young mothers. (That would be highly illegal.)

Nope. That’s a lie. Didn’t say that. “@PatriciaKarpiuk: .@MacLeodLisa, a PC MPP, wants to fire young mothers.

— Lisa MacLeod (@MacLeodLisa) May 20, 2014

Their federal counterparts are already pushing a stay-at-home mom family model. Are the Ontario PCs actually crossing their fingers and hoping new moms on mat leave opt not to return to work to get their downsized public service?

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Photo: YouTube