Ontario's 126,000 teachers stayed away from work on Monday,
October 27 following the break-down of negotiations between
representatives of Ontario's five teachers' unions and the Harris
government on Bill 160, The Education Quality Improvement Act.
Picket lines were up at virtually all public and secondary
schools in Ontario, with many students joining their teachers on
the line. The teachers' strike is also being supported by
non-educational staff in the schools, most of whom are members of
the Canadian Union of Public Employees. It also involves
principals and vice-principals.
Negotiations, facilitated by retired Ontario Justice Dubin,
came to a halt on Sunday, October 26 when the representatives of
the Ontario government refused to table any substantive
amendments to Bill 160 and teachers refused to retract their
demand that control over education matters such as class sizes
and teacher preparation time be kept in the hands of teachers and
school boards.
Bill 160, which has been approved in principle by the
Ontario legislature, gives the Cabinet control over school
teacher preparation time, class sizes, education property tax
rates. It also allows for the employment of non-certified
teachers in schools. The teachers' unions and other organizations
concerned with public education have charged that the main aim of
Bill 160 is to give the Cabinet the powers it needs to further
cut education spending. This charge was confirmed last week by a
government document revealing plans to cut $667 million more from
the education spending. Since coming to power, the Harris
Conservatives have already cut more than $1 billion from
education. By assuming control over matters such as class size
and teacher preparation time and education taxation, the Cabinet
will have much broader scope for cutting back spending than it
did previously. Amongst other things, power over class sizes and
teachers preparation time, now a matter of negotiations between
teachers and school boards, would enable the government to
effect changes which could eliminate as many as 10,000 teaching
positions across the province.
Even though the Ontario government is currently holding
public hearings on Bill 160, Johnson has clearly indicated that
the government has no intention of listening either to the demands
of the teachers, or other citizens and residents who do not agree
with the sweeping powers over education that Bill 160 will give
to the Ontario Cabinet.
TML DAILY, 10/97
Shawgi Tell
Graduate School of Education
University at Buffalo
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
