TORONTO - The province and elementary school teachers are still at an impasse in contract talks as the fall back-to-school season looms.
The union, which represents 73,000 teachers, says it still doesn't have a commitment from the government to close a funding gap between elementary and secondary school teachers.
But Education Minister Kathleen Wynne says she's confident the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario will come back to the negotiation table.
Speaking today to hundreds of teachers at the union's annual meeting in Toronto, she said the government is facing a cash crunch but is doing as much as it can to address teachers' concerns.
She says teachers are being offered a good deal, which includes a three per cent raise each year over four years and more teachers for grades 4 to 8.
Union president David Clegg says Wynne is sending a mixed message to teachers, who won't sign a long-term agreement that doesn't address the funding gap.
The current four-year contract is set to expire at the end of this month.
There hasn't been a teachers' strike since Premier Dalton McGuinty's Liberal government was elected in 2003, mainly because teachers signed four-year contracts.
