TORONTO, Ont. – ‘Super Tuesday’ — the largest one-day strike thus far in Ontario teachers’ protest of Bill 115 — hit the province with tens of thousands of elementary students in eight school boards out of class.
The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario said 35,000 teachers, including nearly 14,000 in Toronto — the province’s largest school board — hit the picket lines.
Other school boards hit by strikes Tuesday were Peel, Durham, Waterloo, Greater Essex, Grand Erie and Lambton Kent in southern Ontario and the Near North board in central Ontario.
The ETFO said the one-day strikes are to protest the contentious Bill 115 that gives the province the power to end strikes and impose a collective agreement on teachers.
On Wednesday, it will be the Bluewater board, which includes Owen Sound, Bruce and Grey counties, the Algoma board in the Sault Ste. Marie area of northern Ontario, and the Halton board, which includes the Burlington and Oakville areas west of Toronto.
Thursday’s walkouts involve the Thames Valley board, which covers Elgin, Middlesex and Oxford counties and includes London, Woodstock and St. Thomas; and the Limestone board which covers Lennox and Addington county and Frontenac county, which includes Kingston, in eastern Ontario.
Also targeted on Thursday are the Superior-Greenstone board in northwestern Ontario and the Upper Canada board in the Brockville area of eastern Ontario.
The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario has said it will give 72-hours notice of any walkouts as teachers continue to protest a law allowing the government to stop strikes, freeze wages and cut benefits.
Premier Dalton McGuinty has said the government would allow the one-day strikes as long as they don’t extend beyond that.
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Teachers care so much for out kids, their charges. They use them as pawns and shields in their great cause against the governement and at the most celebrated time of the year. Why don’t they protest during the holidays when the kids are out of school? I bet you won’t see one sign up or protest during the alloted Christmas holidays. Once school is back in the teachers will go right back at it and risk not only the school year for some but their ability to go to college or university next year.
I know many teachers do not support these tactics their union has told them to do. Failure to follow the union doctrine results in a significant fine by the union.
Boy if the government started to fine them all hell would break loose.
Teachers you have a dispute with the government fine, it is your right to take steps so your position is heard. You must find other ways of protesting and quit using the kids as your main line of defense and offense in this dispute.