Online voting opened on Nov. 24 and is set to conclude Sunday, exactly two weeks after the union’s central bargaining committee reached a tentative agreement with the provincial government. The deal averted a strike, which was set to get underway on Monday, Nov. 21.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) has scheduled a news conference for 10 a.m. Monday at Queen’s Park.
The union, whose members include custodians, education assistants, early childhood educators, and administrative staff who work in the province’s public, Catholic, English, and French school boards, initially planned to unveil the results on Tuesday.
CUPE officials are recommending members ratify the four-year contract, which has an average wage increase of 3.59 per cent in each year.
The terms of the agreement were mandated into a contract for the workers under Bill 28, the “Keeping Students in Class Act”, which used the notwithstanding clause to make it illegal for workers to go on strike. The province rescinded that bill following two days of protests and a promise to return to talks with the union.
If CUPE members vote to reject the latest deal, both sides could go back to the bargaining table and CUPE could give another strike notice.
“This tentative agreement is our first in 10 years to be freely bargained instead of forced on us with legislative interference,” said Laura Walton, president of CUPE’s Ontario School Boards Council of Unions, in a Dec. 2 release.
“For the last week and a half, frontline education workers have been deciding if what’s in this tentative agreement is acceptable. This – workers having the freedom to negotiate and to withdraw our labour if necessary – is democracy in action.”
Walton, an educational assistant from Belleville, has said she does not like the agreement as it doesn't include new staffing guarantees.
Speaking to briefly to reporters following CUPE’s Nov. 20 no-strike announcement, Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce said the agreement is a “positive outcome for all parties.”
“The biggest beneficiary of this deal is our kids, who are going to have some stability and be able to stay in school,” he said.
“We are grateful to all parties for working with the government. … Kids deserve to be in class and I’m proud to confirm they will be tomorrow.”
Lecce, who would not speak to the specifics of the agreement, said there have been some “incremental wins” for both sides and that “every party leaves the table with something that they wanted to advance.”
“The greatest beneficiary of this deal is our kids who are going to be in school. That's what matters. This is not about unions winning or government winning,” he said, calling the agreement a “material win for working parents.”
Lecce said regardless of the ratification vote outcome, the province government intends to stay at the table and would continue to have “good faith negotiations” with Ontario’s four other key education unions that are currently in contract negotiations.
With files from The Canadian Press and CTV Toronto’s Katherine DeClerq.
The federal Liberals are withdrawing a controversial amendment to their guns bill that would have added many popular hunting rifles and shotguns to a list of prohibited firearms in Canada.
The Department of National Defence says Canada is working with the United States to protect sensitive information from foreign intelligence threats after a high-altitude surveillance balloon was detected.
China said Friday that a balloon spotted over American airspace was used for weather research and was blown off course, despite U.S. suspicion it was spying. The discovery further strained already tense relations between Beijing and Washington.
Hundreds of customers who scan QR codes for restaurant menus across Canada are being surprised by secret menus instead, revealing the hidden costs behind the food they eat.
Big tech companies that offer online streaming services could soon be required to contribute to Canadian content as a controversial Liberal bill gets one step closer to becoming law.
Lives were 'shattered' when Kabul fell into Taliban hands, and thousands remain in limbo, unable to return to Afghanistan. CTV News' Genevieve Beauchemin recalls her visit to makeshift refugee camps set up in Pakistani parks, and the stories she heard during that time.
Many Canadians have continued to see an increase in their rental rates in 2023. In an column on CTVNews.ca, personal finance contributor Christopher Liew explains how to calculate how much rent you can afford.
The Montreal fire department is advising people to avoid Sherbrooke Street East at Carignan Avenue in the Longue Pointe neighbourhood as a five-alarm fire is burning.
Hydro-Québec is asking its customers to take a few steps to reduce electricity consumption in Quebec as a period of intense cold weather began Thursday night in most regions. The utility predicts that on Friday and Saturday, electricity demand could exceed the historical peak consumption, which was about 40,500 megawatts (MW) in January 2022.
A beloved man who was a fixture on the streets of Montreal's Notre-Dame-de-Grace neighbourhood died last year from a combination of street drugs in his system, including fentanyl, a coroner has ruled.
A former high school teacher who skipped out on his sentencing hearing for sex-related crimes and was re-captured almost a week later will be back in a London courtroom next week.
The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. is holding a big reveal Friday morning: the winner of a $48 million Lotto 6/49 Gold Ball draw. CTVNewsNorthernOntario.ca will be streaming live from the news conference that is scheduled to begin Friday at 11 a.m. in Sault Ste. Marie, where the winner will be presented with their cheque.
Hundreds of customers who scan QR codes for restaurant menus across Canada are being surprised by secret menus instead, revealing the hidden costs behind the food they eat.
Winterlude kicks off in Ottawa and Gatineau today, as the national capital region's winter festival returns with in-person activities for the first time in three years.
Black Friday commemorates the loss of people’s livelihoods with guided tours and viewing of the one Avro Arrow replica. It’s also a starting point for the public introduction of the Canadian Air & Space Museum.
Huronia West Ontario Provincial Police say a local person posted a car for sale on a popular online platform and received an inquiry of interest from an unknown suspect.
The city’s annual Winterfest brings back the historical village that was Barrie and presents the new downtown, complete with snow tube and helicopter rides.
A new survey conducted by Research Co. reveals that more people in Western Canada now support a change in the federal government compared to a similar poll from June.
CTV News has learned that four of five RCMP officers facing charges in the death of an Indigenous man during an arrest in Prince George are still on active duty.
A man who was gunned down outside of his business in South Vancouver never got the chance to meet his daughter, a court heard as his killer was sentenced.
A former Edmonton Police Service officer believes bringing Alberta Sheriffs into downtown Edmonton is a risky plan that has the potential to backfire if not done properly.
A new survey conducted by Research Co. reveals that more people in Western Canada now support a change in the federal government compared to a similar poll from June.
