Premier Ford says one per cent raise is all province will offer, accuses union brass of ‘bad leadership’ as teacher strikes escalate across Ontario

Thestar.com
Jan. 17, 2020
Kristin Rushowy and Robert Benzie

Take it or leave it.

That’s Premier Doug Ford’s hardline message to teachers’ unions, saying the government will not offer their members more than a one per cent raise yearly -- about half of what they are seeking.

He also accused union brass of bad leadership, accusing them of holding Ontario parents “hostage” with escalating job action, and defended his government’s move to mandatory online classes as the “way of the future.”

Ford spoke to reporters Thursday morning, shortly after an announcement by Ontario’s public elementary teachers calling for a second strike day next week -- which now puts three education unions on the picket lines on Tuesday.

Teachers are fighting government plans to boost class sizes -- phasing out thousands of jobs and limiting course options in high schools -- and introduce mandatory online courses for teens. Elementary teachers are seeking a commitment to full-day kindergarten, more special education supports and say the government is looking for $150 million in cutbacks.

They are asking for yearly raises based on cost of living, or about two per cent, which the government has said is the main sticking point though the unions disagree.

“It’s tough to get a deal because this is a government that has absolutely dug in on eroding the quality of education in this province -- that is what is the impediment to getting a deal,” said Harvey Bischof, president of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation.

The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario made the announcement about its second day of strikes in a memo sent to all 83,000 members, saying if no deal with the provincial government is reached four boards will be impacted: Superior Greenstone (Thunder Bay area), Renfrew, Grand Erie and Trillium Lakelands (Haliburton/Kawartha).

On Tuesday, they will join all English Catholic teachers in the province, as well as public high school teachers and support staff in 13 boards, who are also hitting the picket lines.

The elementary union had previously announced a one-day strike on Monday in Toronto -- hitting both the public and Catholic boards (where the union represents early childhood educators), Ottawa-Carleton and York Region.

Ford’s government has already announced it will spend up to $48 million per day to repay parents for child-care costs during any work stoppage from teacher strikes.

The reimbursement is “a little way of supporting (parents) if they have to go to daycare and have their kids in daycare,” the premier said. “They have lives to carry on. They have to go to work. And so I think it was a good move that we’re using the teachers’ salaries to compensate the parents that have to pay.”

The mounting tensions between the province and teachers now means all four unions are engaging in job action for the first time in more than 20 years, from work-to-rule to daylong strikes.

Because Ontario’s teacher unions also bargain for support and professional staff in schools, Catholic, French and public boards can all be impacted by just one union’s job action.

The only teacher union currently bargaining with the province and school board associations is the AEFO, which represents teachers working in French-language boards. No dates have been scheduled with the other three.

NDP Education Critic Marit Stiles blamed Ford for the unrest.

“Seeing all teachers’ unions take job action at once is unprecedented. I don’t think Doug Ford counted on parents, teachers and students fighting so hard and being so united to protect public education,” she said.

If the province goes ahead with two, mandatory online courses, it would be the only jurisdiction in North America with such a requirement. A handful of states, including Alabama, require or recommend just one e-learning credit.

Ford said teachers “don’t have good leadership at the head of the unions,” and said parents he’s heard from are “frustrated that the teachers can’t stay in the classroom and negotiate at the same time. So we’re confident we’ll get a deal. And things will be back to normal hopefully sooner than later.”

Ford said he hopes to have collective agreements in place by the time the legislature resumes on Feb. 18.