Premier Kathleen Wynne admits the government went too far in making seniority the main criterion in hiring teachers for long-term contracts or permanent jobs.

“I recognize that there are concerns . . . I recognize that there may have been an over-correction in terms of some of the issues that had been brought forward,” Wynne said Wednesday in the legislature’s daily question period about Regulation 274, the controversial hiring rule put in place province-wide after Ontario’s Catholic teachers complained about nepotism in their boards.

Wynne added that Education Minister Liz Sandals has working groups in place to study the issue and “look at what changes we might be able to make . . . we acknowledge that there are concerns and we will do everything in our power to make sure that we get it right.”

Sandals is now also asking two experts to study the impact the regulation has had on boards.

On Wednesday, Progressive Conservative MPP and education critic Lisa MacLeod introduced a private member’s bill that would revoke the regulation and instead require boards to implement fair hiring policies.

PC Leader Tim Hudak said the careers of young teachers are in peril while the government dithers.

“This is not a time for waffling,” he said. “It’s not a time to study the issue. It’s a time for action.”

He told reporters that since Wynne is saying the regulation is an over-correction, “my advice to the premier today is get rid of Regulation 274 — you should hire the best teacher for the job.”

The Tory bill would revert back to the previous system allowing principals to hire the teachers they want and not simply from a list of five qualified occasionals who have worked the longest — as they must under the new rules.

The regulation is opposed by every teacher union with the exception of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association, by school boards and the deans of Ontario’s faculties of education.

Grandfather Charles Wakefield, who volunteers at Toronto’s Rose Avenue Public School, said the parent council there is reaching out to other councils to create a coalition to lobby the government to rescind the regulation.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

Read more about: