QUEEN'S PARK — The Ontario government now has contract agreements with all teacher unions in the province, meaning there will be no teacher strikes for at least the next three years.
Following 20 months of bargaining, a tentative deal was announced Tuesday for the only teacher group still without a settlement – the 45,000-member Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association.
"For the first time in nearly a generation, Ontario's government successfully negotiated deals with all teacher unions that averted strikes or the withdrawal of services," Education Minister Stephen Lecce said in a statement.
"We fulfilled our promise to Ontario families: to deliver peace and stability to students as we get back-to-basics in Ontario classrooms."
The deal with OECTA is apparently structured similarly to agreements reached earlier with other teachers' unions, under which salary issues and other outstanding matters have gone to binding arbitration.
President Patrick Daly of the Ontario Catholic School Trustees Association also welcomed the deal, saying it reflects the commitment of all the negotiating parties "to fairness and the well-being of students and teachers in Catholic schools throughout Ontario."
Details of the tentative agreement will be released following formal ratification.
Teachers are expected to hold a province-wide vote on March 26 and 27.
OECTA President René Jansen in de Wal described the negotiations that led up to the agreement as difficult and exceptionally long.
"Our goal – as always – is to reach the best possible deal to better support all students and teachers, and to address key issues facing publicly funded schools in our communities across Ontario," he said.
