Back to school costs vary depending on which side of the Ottawa River kids go to school

Few rituals dampen the fantasy of an endless summer like the annual wallet-draining trip to gather school supplies for the kids.

"It really did feel like a shocker," said Julie Findlay, a mother of two elementary school students, as she perused the long bill for school supplies outside the checkout at an Ottawa office supply store this week. Findlay is also a blogger, who offers parents advice on everything from smart shopping to making lunches. 

"It's definitely a lot getting the kids back to school."

Canadian parents should prepare to drop an average of $400 per child on back-to-school shopping this year — up 4.5 per cent from last year — according to a recent report from accounting firm Ernst & Young.

That price tag includes everything from new jeans to Pokémon backpacks to notebooks and pencils.

But a closer look across school boards in the Ottawa region shows some big differences in how much parents are expected to spend on the very basics — disparities that depend on which side of the Ottawa River they live on, and on whether they speak English or French.

While parents in both provinces will take a financial hit for basic supplies, families in Quebec are required to hand over an additional cheque directly to the school to cover expenses such as math workbooks, photocopies and lunch supervision.

For elementary students, that tally can reach anywhere from $75 to $160, while high school students are expected to pay almost double that amount. 

Within Quebec, there are also differences between French and English boards. The Commission scolaire des Draveurs, for instance, tries to cap the extra charges at $75 per child, while the Western Québec School Board can demand between $107 and $160 in extra charges to supervise Grade 4 students during recess and lunch. 

Audrey Audet, whose four kids attend English language schools in Quebec, said the charges can really add up.

"That really stuck out for me this year," said Audet, who spent $200 on French and math workbooks alone.

Different rules in Ontario, Quebec

In Ontario, those extra charges have been considered illegal since 2011. And while even the basic supply list for Grade 1 students with the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board can run up a bill of $150 for items such as pens, crayons, scissors, calculators and geometry sets, that list is considered voluntary.

There is one local school board that covers all the costs of supplies: Ottawa's French Catholic school board, the Conseil des écoles catholiques du Centre-Est, covers the cost, right down to the basics.

Parents in Ontario who struggle to pay for supplies can also appeal to charitable organizations that provide backpacks filled with everything students will need to start the school year. 

The Education Foundation of Ottawa will donate 1,500 free backpacks this fall, each filled with about $25 worth of school supplies.

Executive director Chris McGarvey said the foundation is supplying a few hundred more backpacks than usual this year because of the new addition of Syrian refugees heading off to school.

"They walk taller when they leave. It makes them feel part of their peer group," McGarvey said.

The high cost of supplies in Quebec

Here's a lists of additional supplies at two schools in the Outaouais:

Greater Gatineau Elementary School (Western Qu​ébec School Board)

• Supervision: $75.
• Paper: $35.
• Art supplies: $10.
• Agenda and "specialty" school supplies: $10.
• Math workbook: $15.
• French workbook: $15.

Total: $160.

École de l'Odyssée (Commission scolaire des Draveurs):

• Agenda: $7.
• Photocopies: $15.
• Social Studies exercise book: $16.
• French materials/exercise book: $20.
• Math exercise book: $14.

Total: $73.06 (elementary schools with this board are not allowed to exceed this maximum).