Education Minister Paul Calandra says he remains optimistic over ongoing contract negotiations for teachers and education workers, while unions are expressing frustrations over the government’s demands and a stall on discussions.
Calandra and education union leaders were optimistic in June ahead of negotiations over contracts set to expire at the end of August. The minister shared that same positivity again with reporters at a news conference on Thursday.
“We remain committed to get a negotiated settlement, so that teachers have certainty, parents have certainty, and students have the best opportunity to succeed,” he said.
“As minister of education, my focus is clear: putting student achievement first and giving every student the opportunity to succeed.”
But David Mastin, president of the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario, said not a lot is going on with discussions due to a stall over what should be negotiated at the central table.
Typically the provincial ETFO and province will negotiate “big ticket items” and leave other matters for local unions and school boards to bargain on, he said. But Mastin said the province is instead demanding to bring most topics to the central table and leave “very, very little” for the local level.
“This is not normal,” he said. “It mirrors [the province’s] attempt to remove trustees. They don’t like local school boards having the ability to make decisions that are in the best interest of the communities that they work and live in.”
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The central-local split issue has been referred to the Ontario Labour Relations Board, effectively stalling bargaining.
On the bright side, Mastin said the unions, which are typically siloed with their own localized issues, have become united this year due to the challenges with the province.
“I’ve never witnessed a government that is so intent on driving the public out of the public education system,” he said.
Calandra promised the school year would return as usual in September, despite the ongoing negotiations.
He said that he, as well as teachers, want to avoid “things heating up” later in the school year and potentially impacting graduating students. Calandra added that there’s “no reason why” the ministry shouldn’t be able to reach a negotiated settlement with the unions.
“They just want to be in the classroom. They just want to teach, to be treated fairly. We can accomplish that,” he said. “We all have the same interest in mind, which is to the students.”
Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation president Martha Hradowy said the government is trying to move issues such as transfer, layoff and recall language away from local tables.
She said talks should be continuing on the issues both sides agree are central, such as class sizes and workloads.
But Calandra says it is essential to have the certainty of what issues will be negotiated centrally before approaching bargaining as a whole.
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Mastin said the province doesn’t need to micromanage processes typically handled by school boards and local unions.
To any parents worried about possible job action, Mastin said teachers are fighting to protect education for students now and in the future.
“Sometimes there’s moments of disruption in order to make sure we protect those things that we value,” he said. “I’m asking the public to stand with us and to work with us to defend and protect public education in this province.”
On Thursday, Calandra announced the opening of 35 new and expanded schools across the province. He said the new additions would include 18,000 more student spaces and over 1,000 child-care spaces for the year ahead.
It’s the latest ministry announcement after sweeping changes were made to schools across Ontario this past year, including provincial takeovers of eight school boards, a reduced role for elected trustees at English school boards and having attendance count towards high school students’ grades.
Legislation introduced by Calandra earlier this year sharply reduced the role of school board trustees across the province, including cutting budget responsibilities at English-language boards, and mostly removing their role in central bargaining.
It also introduced two oversight positions: the chief executive officer in charge of financial and operation matters, and the chief education officer to overlook student achievement.
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The Ontario School Board Council of Unions, which represent 57,000 education workers across the province, said in a post on X that the decision to expand control of unelected CEOs “raises serious questions about democratic accountability.”
It said trustees often manage several issues, such as staffing levels and student supports, that have financial implications at schools. By giving CEOs the authority to block or delay decisions, trustees’ work to respond to community needs will become harder, the union said.
It also said the province had a five-day public consultation earlier in August regarding the CEO positions, but that it was not “a meaningful amount of time” for communities to review and respond.
