

Chris Herhalt, CP24.com





All of Ontario's 200,000 public school teachers and education workers will strike in unison for one day on Feb. 21, the four major education unions announced on Wednesday.

The unions have each been holding rolling one-day strikes independent of one another, but will now strike together as talks with the Ford government have so far failed to yield meaningful progress on core demands by the government for salary increases of no more than one per cent, raising of class sizes and mandatory e-learning in high schools.

"For the first time since 1997, the four affiliates of the Ontario Teachers' Federation will mobilize their members to take simultaneous action," a communique from the Elementary Teachers' Federation said.

Together the teachers are responsible for more than two million students in the province.

Speaking at the Canadian Club forum inside the Royal York Hotel on Wednesday, Education Minister Stephen Lecce said the one-day mass walkout was "irresponsible."

"The fact that I've heard that the teachers' union leaders have opted to escalate again next week, knowing there is still a pathway to consider private mediation, to invoke an option that makes sense that would help us end an impasse that has impacted so many student's lives, is an irresponsible choice," he said.

Sitting in the audience as he spoke were the leaders of Ontario’s four teachers’ unions. They each expressed exasperation and disbelief at his statement and said his intransigence had forced them to plan a mass walkout.

“This is the first time in 20 years where we are where we are,” French teachers’ union President Rémi Sabourin said.

“We’re just at a point where this is a fight where we need to come together,” Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario President Sam Hammond said.

Catholic teachers’ union president Liz Stuart said the four of them went to Lecce’s speech as it is the closest they can ever get to speaking with the minister.

“It’s the only time we actually get to hear from him – none of us have personally heard from the minister since this began,” she said.

Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation President Harvey Bischof said the only thing that could keep the unions from striking next week is a collective settlement that avoided the concessions Lecce is advocating.

Strikes this week continue across Ontario:

Tuesday, Feb. 11:

A province-wide strike will be held at public elementary schools across Ontario, impacting all of ETFO’s 83,000 members.

Wednesday, Feb. 12:

Public elementary school teachers at the Toronto District School Board will be off the job on Wednesday along with early childhood educators at the Toronto Catholic District School Board, ETFO confirmed last week.

Thursday, Feb. 13:

Public elementary school teachers at the Peel District School Board and York Region District School Board will walk off the job for a one-day strike.

High school teachers at the Peel District School Board will also be off the job on Thursday, the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) confirms.

The Association des enseignantes et des enseignants franco-ontariens (AEFO) will be staging a provincewide one-day strike on Thursday.

Friday: