THUNDER BAY – Ontario’s Minister of Education is adamant the current round of labour negotiations with teachers will be less contentious than the last.
During a visit to St. Ann School on Monday morning, Liz Sandals said new legislation enacted last spring should play a major role in simplifying the collective bargaining process with the nine unions that represent teachers and support workers in the province’s four school systems.
“When we looked at what happened last time around we recognized that part of the problem was that there wasn’t any legislation that described the current situation where the province as the funder, the school boards are the employer and the unions representing the employees,” Sandals said.
“It means the money issues will be dealt on the provincial level with the province and school board associations representing the boards and the unions at a central table. Then the local issues will come back to local boards and unions to negotiate.”
Her predecessor, Laurel Broten, drew the ire of teachers across Ontario for enacting legislation that effectively imposed contracts, which in their view, took away bargaining rights away from teachers and their unions.
Two years ago local members of the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario staged a one-day strike, forcing public elementary schools to be closed. There was a second occasion where schools were closed as a preparation against a potential walk off.
Their secondary school counterparts enacted various work-to-rule measures, cutting out their role in extracurricular activities which resulted in the partial cancellation of the high school sports year.
Those contracts expired Aug. 31 with work ongoing to negotiate new ones.
While Sandals acknowledged the process of negotiating new deals won’t be easy, she is confident it will be a lot smoother and there won’t be a risk of disruption to the Ontario school calendar, like what happened in British Columbia last month.
“They’re at the stage right now with where they’re working through what issues they will deal with at the central table and what issues will be dealt with at local tables,” she said.
“Because it’s new legislation I anticipate it will take quite a while to work through all the issues but what I’m hearing is a lot of optimism and determination to make the new legislation work.”
Sandals was also asked about the prevalence of split grade classes, with the city’s McKenzie Public School having two different three-grade split classes. The Lakeshore Drive school has a combined Grades 1, 2 and 3 class as well as a mixed Grades 4, 5 and 6 class
She responded the practice is nothing new and happens in cases where the number of students does not match up with class size regulations, though acknowledged that large of a split is extreme.
“The reality of split grades has been with us for a long, long time. You can get them in little schools, mid-size schools and you can get them in really big schools,” Sandals said.
“With declining enrollment we’re ending up with schools that are quite small and that’s when you get into triple splits. At that point the board is going to have to look at whether that school is the right size for the community or whether there are other solutions.”
With Queen’s Park not currently in session, Sandals has been using the free time to travel across Ontario to visit a number schools and see firsthand the effectiveness of programs and the differences in various regions.
One area that is being looked at is how to best assist students from remote First Nations who have to travel to receive an education.
“One of the things research tells us is that transitions are particularly difficult. Whenever you get children who are making a transition they often need extra support,” she said. “The more dramatic the transition, obviously the more support they need.”
Thunder Bay-Superior North MPP Michael Gravelle joined Sandals at St. Ann, which has the Thunder Bay District Catholic School Board’s highest ratio of First Nations students.
With the number of students who have died while attending school in the city, including 20-year-old Daniel Levac from Sachigo Lake who was murdered Friday night, Gravelle said it is important to find solutions.
“Those transitional challenges are real, if you’re coming in from a remote community you’re going into a school environment whether it’s at the elementary or high school level it’s tough” Gravelle said. “We’re committed to working as closely as we can, not just with the school system but with Aboriginal leadership to find the best possible solutions to make that transition as positive as it can be.”
Sandals will continue her regional visit with a stop at Nipigon-Red Rock High School in the afternoon and will travel to Sioux Lookout on Tuesday.
