Ontario education workers set to strike again on Monday as negotiations break down
Ontario education workers set to strike again on Monday as negotiations break down
The union that represents 55,000 Ontario education workers has filed a five-day notice to go back on strike meaning schools could be forced to close as early as Monday.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees’ (CUPE) said that despite “many late hour attempts to achieve a freely negotiated settlement,” talks with the provincial government once again “broke down.”
“I urge the Ford government to seize the time we have and do the right thing. Come forward with a deal that truly helps students catch up,” Laura Walton, president of CUPE’s Ontario School Board Council of Unions, said Wednesday at a news conference.
In response, Education Minister Stephen Lecce said the government is “very disappointed” by the “unnecessary” decision to strike.
“We've been at the table in good faith, demonstrating a commitment to the lowest paid workers and the commitments of parents to keep their kids in school. And yet today, they have decided, again to put the province on a five-day notice to a strike,” he said at an impromptu news conference at Queen’s Park following news of the impending job action.
CUPE’s education workers are still in legal strike position after a conciliator issued what’s known as a “no board” report on Oct. 17.
The union does not have to re-request the report if it wants to strike again.
Both sides have stayed tight lipped on the negotiations behind closed doors at the request of the mediator, but Lecce said the ministry has offered up “multiple improved offers” that would have added “hundreds of millions of dollars across the sector.”
Meanwhile, Walton said the government’s most recent offer to CUPE workers included a $1 raise per hour for each year of its collective agreement, which she said works out to an increase of about 3.59 per cent.
“Let me be clear: That’s a win for workers. But it’s not enough. It’s not nearly what we deserve for the care and effort and incredible passion we put into our jobs,” she said.
The union and the Ontario government returned to the negotiating table last week following a two-day strike by the union’s custodians, librarians and early childhood educators.
Ontario Premier Doug speaks during a press conference, as Education Minister Stephen Lecce looks on, at Queen's Park in Toronto on Monday Nov. 7, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
While most school boards in Ontario have not yet responded to the news, many were forced to close following the previous job action which left millions of students out of class and parents scrambling to find childcare.
As of Wednesday afternoon, only the Toronto Catholic Distric School Board confirmed it would close all of its schools in the event of a strike. At the same time, the Toronto District School Board said it is still finalizing information before making an announcement.
Education workers first walked off the job on Nov. 4 after negotiations for new contracts fell apart and the government introduced and passed legislation that made it illegal to strike, despite the union being in a legal position to do so at the time.
On Monday, Doug Ford’s government repealed Bill 28—which made use of the controversial notwithstanding clause—making good on a promise to scrap the legislation in a good-faith effort to end the job action and return to negotiations.
The government’s last public offer to education workers included an annual wage increase of 2.5 per cent for those making less than $43,000 and 1.5 per cent for the rest of the workforce.
A senior government official says a Canadian military assessment team is on its way to Turkiye in the wake of a devastating earthquake that's killed thousands.
A man has been arrested and two children are dead after a driver crashed a city bus into a daycare in Laval, Que. Wednesday morning. The deadly crash sent multiple children to area hospitals and parents scrambling to find their kids shortly after they dropped them off for the day at the Garderie éducative Sainte-Rose, north of Montreal.
Many Canadians are experiencing strains caused by the increased cost of living and inflation. In his exclusive column for CTVNews.ca, contributor Christopher Liew shares some of the top credits and deductions that you may be able to claim on your income tax return to help you save money.
The officer who pulled Tyre Nichols from his car before police fatally beat him never explained why he was being stopped, newly released documents show, and emerging reports from Memphis residents suggest that was common.
In a first for the Bank of Canada, it has released a summary of deliberations by its governing council regarding its policy decision to raise its key interest rate target by a quarter of a percentage point to 4.5 per cent in January. Here are five key takeaways from those discussions.
Netflix Canada is rolling out its long-anticipated plans to crack down on password sharing, saying it will begin notifying Canadian users today by email about limitations.
The way respiratory viruses have circulated this fall and winter, most Canadians could probably benefit from a hand-hygiene refresher. Here are the latest hand-washing best practices to apply in your daily life.
Condolences are pouring in on Parliament Hill after a Laval, Que., city bus crashed into a daycare on Wednesday morning, with federal politicians of all stripes expressing their sympathies with the families affected and gratitude to the first responders.
A man has been arrested and two children are dead after a driver crashed a city bus into a daycare in Laval, Que. Wednesday morning. The deadly crash sent multiple children to area hospitals and parents scrambling to find their kids shortly after they dropped them off for the day at the Garderie éducative Sainte-Rose, north of Montreal.
Condolences are pouring in on Parliament Hill after a Laval, Que., city bus crashed into a daycare on Wednesday morning, with federal politicians of all stripes expressing their sympathies with the families affected and gratitude to the first responders.
Chateauguay is still digging out from all the recent snow – but the mayor is underwater due to a municipal spat. The South Shore city’s mayor, Eric Allard, called in trucks from the private sector to help after blue-collar workers refused to work evenings and weekends to get the job done.
Former London, Ont. high school teacher Dustin Epp, 48, was supposed to appear for his sentencing hearing Wednesday afternoon, but the matter has been delayed until next week due to health-related concerns and to give Epp more time to prepare his legal defence.
A 20-year-old driver from London, Ont. is temporarily without a licence after OPP stopped them for allegedly driving 145 km/h in a 60 km/h zone on Tuesday night.
A thief was siphoning fuel from trucks on York Street in London before a massive fire broke out in a storage yard. U-Haul told CTV News London an explosion occurred at 745 York St. around 1 a.m. Hours later, a photographer from the London Police Service Forensics Division was on scene taking photos of charred vehicles.
A memorial has been set up in the area where 30-year-old Karen Cunningham’s body was found, as police in Woodstock continue to investigate her death as “suspicious” in nature.
A grieving family in Noelville, Ont., is reeling after a judge dismissed a trial connected to a 2019 workplace fatality involving a close family member.
The wait is over for ticketholders in the latest Canadian Hard of Hearing Association's Ultimate Dream Home Draw as Pure Country Sudbury morning show hosts pulled the names of the prize winners Wednesday afternoon.
In a case that dates to 2007, Wayne Foster, a former police officer in Sudbury, has been charged with one count of sexual assault and one count of sexual exploitation.
A man has been arrested and two children are dead after a driver crashed a city bus into a daycare in Laval, Que. Wednesday morning. The deadly crash sent multiple children to area hospitals and parents scrambling to find their kids shortly after they dropped them off for the day at the Garderie éducative Sainte-Rose, north of Montreal.
Maple tree tapping started a week sooner than usual in southern Ontario where a mild winter has maple syrup hobbyists and producers hoping things cool down. Sap buckets were overflowing less than 24 hours after being installed in Ruscom Station, Essex County — but the warm weather could cut the season short.
As Canada’s premiers rush to absorb the impact of this funding, healthcare leadership in Windsor-Essex is also curious how it will impact the many systemic issues that plague our system.
According to officials at the Ukrainian National Federation's Windsor branch, 10 families are coming to the area and could be here within the next two weeks.
Ontario's Police watchdog released new details about the evening two South Simcoe police officers were shot and killed in an Innisfil house in October.
Nova Scotia Health is under the microscope after eight employees were found snooping into medical records. The privacy breaches involve the electronic health records of people associated with the April 2020 mass shooting in Nova Scotia, among others.
The Calgary Police Service asked residents of a northwest neighbourhood to shelter in their homes as officers responded to a situation Wednesday morning involving a firearm.
The federal government is putting up $500,000 for a feasibility study into a potential search for the remains of two Indigenous women at a Winnipeg-area landfill.
An annual $5 payment to members of seven First Nations has remained the same for more than 150 years, but one man is hoping to change that. Zongidaya Nelson is suing the federal government for 11 billion dollars on the behalf of his Roseau River Anishinabe First Nation, and the six other First Nations in Manitoba that signed Treaty 1 in 1871.
The Greater Vancouver Food Bank has partnered with 34 new community agencies this year alone, as the organization races to meet record-breaking demands that are showing no signs of slowing.
There are more signs that tensions are high in British Columbia’s health authorities as an outspoken doctor on Vancouver Island has faced professional repercussions and nearly all the critical care doctors at a northern hospital have resigned.
Crews are scheduled to begin upgrade work on Vancouver's Granville Bridge next week, but officials are promising the impacts on traffic will be minimal.
Ontario Premier Doug speaks during a press conference, as Education Minister Stephen Lecce looks on, at Queen's Park in Toronto on Monday Nov. 7, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
