It’s a very short week, and another long weekend for students in both Thunder Bay school boards.
That is because there is no school at all today because of a one day strike by all four teachers unions in the province.
The walkout affected two million students in Ontario.
Education Minister Stephen Lecce is responding to today by saying the government will continue to focus on merit-based hiring, enhanced investments in students priorities over union demands for more wages, and a written commitment to protect all-day kindergarten. He further says parents are losing patience with the union-caused disruption in their lives, the inconsistency in their children’s education and the financial impact of scrambling for alternate care.
The NDP grilled the Premier in the Ontario legislature yesterday, to which Doug Ford said contrary to popular opinion, they have increased the budget for education.
“Just want to remind the leader of the NDP, of what she’s calling cuts, we’re actually increasing by $1.2-billion. They have a tough time with math.” says the Premier.
NDP leader Andrea Horwath says the parents in this province are telling the government they don’t want e-learning and want smaller class sizes. She’s also disputing the Premier’s stance, adding they don’t have the support of parents.
“The Premier continues to stick his head in the sand, and pretend that parents are on his side, while everyday they tell him to reverse his cuts to education. Why is he ignoring parents?” asks the Opposition leader.
