TORONTO, Ont. – Hundreds of Toronto public elementary and secondary teachers converged Tuesday evening on the Ministry of Education to protest Bill 115.
Toronto police diverted traffic around the government education offices as the teachers protested Bill 115 — the controversial legislation that allowed the Liberals to impose new contracts on teachers.
Sam Hammond, president of the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario, was pleased with the turnout.
“The turnout is excellent,” he said.
“The Elementary Teachers of Toronto and their [Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation] counterpart organized this today — on Jan. 15 — or ’0115′ if you will, to relate it to Bill 115,” he said.
The ETT is the Toronto-local of the ETFO.
The province has vowed to repeal Bill 115 now that it has served its purpose, but teachers, including Liz, who joined the demonstration, say it stripped their democratic rights.
“I just don’t think that’s a democratic process and I think we have to stand up and say so,” Liz said.
Elementary teachers across Ontario planned a mass demonstration last Friday but cancelled it at the last minute after the Ontario Labour Relations Board ruled it an illegal strike.
Members of the OSSTF, which represents public high school teachers, have planned similar protests Wednesday at the offices of MPPs across the province.
Meanwhile, Hammond said the ETFO plans to review its move to withdraw extracurricular activities on or before March 1. Teachers are coming under pressure to reinstate extracurricular activities.
Former president of the Canadian Auto Workers Union Buzz Hargrove said teachers risk losing public support with the withdrawal of after-school clubs.
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First off, teachers of today are all money hungry, they do not teach for the love of teaching and make sure the children of today understand tomorrow, they teach because they see green and think they are above everyone else. The joy of shaping the youths minds should come first not the joy of shaping your wallet and screwing the tax payers of hard earned money. Time to stop thinking about the punch clock and start doing what your paid for. When we went to school we had teachers that would take the extra hour after school and help the child understand, i am sorry to say this is a lost art now, teachers only think about how they can earn more money and don’t even get me started on the amount of roll over time they are allowed with pay, you get benefits and sicks days which i do not think is fair, on top of the $80k salary you currently make for a 6 hour day and only work 8 months out of the year. When will this money train stop?? quit your crying and carry out your mission to teach the young minds of today. Maybe if every teacher started caring like the ones of the old school there would never be any problems in schools with bullies and violence. There are more important things in life then negotiating your salary to earn $100k a year.
people in the education system need to wake up.Kids are not a bargaining tool.You should absolutely have no right to strike or use sanctions to leverage your demands.You are in an essential service industry.Your right to bargain and the government’s offer should be put forward to an independent arbitrator and the decision is final,win lose or draw…no strikes…no job action…you and the government are bound by independent decision weighing all the facts from both sides…and you will like it or be fired…
Today was not a protest it was a temper tantrum.
First of all, teachers AGREED to the wage freeze before the contract was IMPOSED. Ms. Broten’s use of Bill 115 then (in the same breath) her repeal of, it goes to show just how manipulative this Liberal gov’t has been. This is about RIGHTS not money. People in Canada have the RIGHT to debate and collectively bargain their working conditions and contracts.
Although I somewhat agree that scrapping extra-curricular activities is hindering (our) teachers’ ability to gain public support, what other leg is there to stand on? If it’s “business as usual” at schools, the gov’t thinks that we’ve rolled over and taken it. Of course anything we do affects children, that’s who we work with. Just like airline pilots’/flight attendant’s strikes/protests affect passengers.
On another note, it’s 9:10 p.m and I’m still marking students’ work….in between shouting at my computer….
Please educate yourselves before knocking the people who educate our society’s most precious resource.
Teachers should get over themselves. There is not a worker in Ontario that hasn’t suffered because of the economy. If they don’t like their jobs or what it offers then they should quit. There are many qualified people out there that would be greatful for a teaching job. Teachers lost me respect when they chose to become the backyard bullies and use students as pawns against the government without any regard for the upset and damage they have caused the students
Hey Dave…all workers in Ontario will suffer even more in the near future if this type of bill is allowed to pass without any opposition. Our fight against the government and Bill 115 is about democracy and the right to collectively bargain. So Dave unless you are wealthy and a card carrying Conservative supporter you really need to look at the facts and stop spewing ignorance. ‘Teachers lost me respect’ and ‘greatful’…hope you are not one of the ones you consider to be qualified to teach!
Greatful? I’m glad you don’t teach!
Now that’s the way to hold a protest rally. on your own time.
make sure you do not hamper other peopel walking by that have nothing to do with you or the ministry in the first place.