Education Minister Paul Calanadra says he remains "very optimistic" about the upcoming school year even though it will begin without a new contract for Ontario's teachers and education workers.
"School will open as usual," Calandra said at an unrelated news conference in Bradford West Gwillimbury on Thursday. "The year will start as scheduled, and it is my expectation that kids will be in the classroom for a very long time. There's no reason why we shouldn't expect the year to be completed and students to be in the classroom the entire time."
Current education contracts are set to expire at the end of the month. Negotiations for a new deal have stalled before they even really started, with the parties not agreeing on which issues should be bargained with the province and which should be dealt with at a local level.
"Every time we negotiate with the teacher unions, there are a number of points we don't agree on and that find their way to the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) and cause a delay," Calandra said. "This is not new."
Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation president Martha Hradowy says the government is trying to further centralize talks, moving issues such as transfer, layoff and recall language away from local tables.
Hradowy says talks should be continuing on the issues both sides agree are central, such as class sizes and workloads.
The central-local split issue has been referred to the OLRB, effectively stalling bargaining.
But Calandra says it's essential to have the certainty of what issues will be negotiated centrally before approaching bargaining as a whole.
"You can't negotiate wages, you can't negotiate classroom sizes if you don't know exactly what you're negotiating centrally and what you are negotiating locally."
At the annual meeting of the Elementary Teachers Union of Ontario (ETFO), the union said strike action is a consideration should there be no agreement, though job action is not the first choice.
ETFO warned that the province's education system is in "crisis", citing chronic underfunding, a reported attack on how many sick days teachers take, and conditions educators are facing in the classroom.
Calandra took questions while visiting the newly constructed $27.9 million St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Elementary School, which will have more than 500 students and provide 49 licenced child care spaces.
The province says the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board will also welcome students this fall to the new Our Lady of Peace Catholic Elementary School in Tottenham, with room for 500 students and 49 licenced child care spaces. The tab to build the school was $28.2 million.
Holy Trinity Catholic High School in Bradford West Gwillimbury will have 276 more student spaces with the opening of a $10.9 million addition.
The government says the Simcoe County District School Board has had funding approved for five new projects which are scheduled to open in the next five years.
They include a 141-student space addition and retrofit at Baxter Central Public Elementary School in Essa Township ($6.1M), a 184-student-space addition to Emma King Elementary School in Barrie ($6.5M), a new 426-student-space elementary school in Tottenham ($20.2M), a 144-student-space addition to Nottawa Elementary School in Clearview Township ($4.7M), a 665-student-space elementary school replacement in Barrie ($29.9M).
with files from The Canadian Press
