Three teachers' unions reject Ontario's proposal to land new contracts and avoid strike
Unions representing most Ontario teachers are rejecting a pitch for binding arbitration to land new contracts and prevent possible strikes.
On Friday, the government and the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF) announced a plan to head to arbitration if a negotiated contract agreement can't be reached by Oct. 27.
OSSTF members still have to approve the process.
Education Minister Stephen Lecce had hoped the other unions would sign on to what he called an "incredibly fair, reasonable student-focused proposal."
But in a joint statement, the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario (ETFO), Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association (OECTA) and the Association des enseignantes et des enseignants franco-ontarien (AEFO) said it's not something they can consider at the moment."
"What's been proposed for OSSTF wouldn't work for us," OECTA president René Jansen in de Wal told CTV Toronto Saturday.
"(Arbitration can be effective in the right place. But it would narrow the tables of issues...and we have critical issues that matter for our students and quality of the classrooms we have."
ETFO President Karen Brown agrees an arbitrator isn't best suited to resolve many of their members' concerns.
"We have issues around violence in the classroom, issues around hiring. These are issues where the government has to actually make those decisions and requires extensive talk and negotiations," Brown said.
Lecce explains the arbitration pitch still leaves lots of room for "spirited discussions at the bargaining table" through Oct. 27.
"But for those outstanding issues that we may not be able to reach, we now have a credible, independent, third party, interest arbitration system that can bring forth a resolution and a settlement that keeps kids in class," Lecce said Saturday.
ETFO, OSSTF, and OECTA have scheduled strike votes in September and October to gauge support of job action and to add pressure to the bargaining process.
AEFO's president said last week the union was evaluating its options.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Air turbulence: When can it become dangerous?
Flight turbulence like that encountered by a Singapore Airlines flight on Tuesday is extremely common, but there's one aspect of severe turbulence an aviation expert says can lead to serious injury.
B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton hospitalized after prison attack
British Columbia serial killer Robert Pickton sustained life-threatening injuries in a Quebec prison Sunday in what officials described as a 'major assault.'
WATCH Why today's inflation numbers are good if you have a mortgage
New inflation data is 'welcome news' for consumers and an economist says it could signal the possibility for a interest rate cut as several core measures also continue to ease.
Conservatives kick off return to House with new call for Speaker Greg Fergus to resign
Pierre Poilievre's Conservatives returned to the House of Commons on Tuesday with a renewed call for Speaker Greg Fergus to resign, this time over 'very partisan' and 'inflammatory' language used to promote an upcoming event.
opinion Tom Mulcair: With Trudeau spiralling, Mark Carney waits in the wings
In his latest column for CTVNews.ca, former NDP leader Tom Mulcair argues that if there's an unofficial frontrunner in the eventual race to replace Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader, it has to be former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney.
Trump campaign calls 'The Apprentice' 'blatantly false,' director offers to screen it for him
Donald Trump's reelection campaign called 'The Apprentice,' a film about the former U.S. president in the 1980s, 'pure fiction' and vowed legal action following its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. But director Ali Abbasi is offering to privately screen the film for Trump.
Feels like mid-30s in parts of Canada, while other areas expecting snow
Anything is possible this week, as far as Canada's weather is concerned, with forecasts ranging from scorching heat in some parts of the country to rain and snow in others.
Nestle to sell $5 pizza, sandwiches in the U.S. for Wegovy, Ozempic users
Nestle NESN.S will market a new, US$5 line of frozen pizzas and protein-enriched pastas in the United States which it says it designed specifically for people taking drugs such as Wegovy or Ozempic for weight loss.
How much more Canadian consumers are paying, compared to this time last year
Canada's annual inflation rate slowed to a three-year low of 2.7 per cent in April, matching expectations, and core measures continued to ease, data showed on Tuesday, likely boosting chances of a June interest rate cut.