Talks between the province and its French-language teachers have broken off with no new bargaining dates in sight, their union’s president says.

All 12,000 members of the Association des enseignantes et des enseignants franco-ontariens (AEFO) hit the picket lines on Thursday. They will also join the province’s three other teachers’ unions in an Ontario-wide strike next Friday, which would mark the first such job action in more than two decades, and the first time that all of Ontario’s teachers have legally gone on strike at the same time.

“This is a first for AEFO in over 20 years, to be in this situation,” AEFO president Remi Sabourin said between visits to schools where he joined protesting members of his union. “Today is the day they get to speak.”

All four teachers’ unions are engaged in ongoing job action, including rotating strikes. No contract talks are currently scheduled for any of them.

At Queen’s Park, Education Minister Stephen Lecce said it was “unacceptable” that a strike is expected to shut down all public, French and Catholic schools next week.

He urged the teachers’ unions to accept private mediation, instead of the government mediators currently being used.

There is no difference in terms of training but, Lecce said, “the rationale for private mediation is premised on when (the sides) have reached an impasse with the current Ministry of Labour mediator” that an outsider can help get a deal, as it did late last year with education support staff represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees.

The teacher situation is at “a similar tense impasse,” Lecce said. “If there’s a tool in the tool kit that can help bring a solution to what has been a very taxing experience on students and their families, I think we should.”

Lecce also said “the government has offered a fair and reasonable deal to teachers and education workers.”

Sabourin said public support is high for the teachers, with polls continuing to show Ontarians opposing larger classes and mandatory e-learning.

“We know that the facts are on our side,” he said, “but it will take a little more work on all the parties to finally come to an agreement.

“Things are not looking up at the moment, but that can change.”

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