Ontario teachers’ contract bill to come to a vote this week
Posted September 10, 2012 9:04 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Proposed legislation that would rein-in teachers’ wages and cut their benefits will come to a vote at Queen’s Park early this week.
The Putting Students First Act, or Bill 115, was introduced by the Liberals late last month and has gained the support of the Progressive Conservatives. The NDP, unions and civil libertarians oppose the anti-strike bill for teachers and educational workers.
A legislative committee reviewing the bill will deliver its report to the legislature on Monday, meaning the final vote could come late Monday or Tuesday. Debate on the proposed bill began Monday afternoon.
If passed, the bill would force new contracts on most of the province’s teachers and educational workers. It includes unpaid days off and reduces sick days to 10 from 20 a year. Education Minister Laurel Broten insists the bill must pass to help the province maintain full-day kindergarten and small class sizes amid a $15-billion deficit.
The NDP claims the Liberals manufactured an education crisis to help them win two byelections, one in Kitchener-Waterloo and the other in Vaughan. The NDP took the Kitchener-Waterloo seat and the Liberals held onto the GTA riding after last week’s vote.
The province reached agreements with English Catholic and francophone teachers, but the two biggest teachers’ unions have rejected the offer. The Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation and the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario have threatened to challenge the bill in court if it passes.
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association has described the bill as undemocratic and unconstitutional.
