Ontario Catholic teachers union announce province-wide strike vote

The Ontario English Catholic Teacher’s Association announced yesterday they will be conducting a strike vote across the province to oppose the Ford Conservative government’s “reckless cuts,” according to OECTA’s press release.

The Catholic teachers’ union say they have received mixed messages from Ford’s provincial government.

“Minister Lecce has publicly said the government is prepared to make investments in the classroom, but at the bargaining table they appear determined to pursue their reckless cuts,” Liz Stuart said in a statement to the MediaPlex.

Stephen Lecce has addressed the announcement on his twitter, saying that the Ministry of Education will proceed as they did during the CUPE negotiations.

As we did with CUPE, we will continue to be reasonable & student-focused, because kids should always be in class.

Simple as that. #onpoli pic.twitter.com/bmdmPf6TgY

— Stephen Lecce (@Sflecce) October 20, 2019

“Negotiations can continue while the strike vote is being taken,” added Stuart, “and we have more dates set for the coming days. Our priority remains to reach an agreement that protects the education system we have here in Ontario and provides students with an optimal learning environment.”

Others have taken negatively to the announcement on OECTA’s president, Liz Stewart’s Twitter page:

You are taking a strike vote to hold that over the children/parents of Ontario. If you really care about the children, then stay working and continue negotiating. You haven’t mentioned that student enrollment has dropped over a 100,000+ but teachers have increased by 14,000+.

— Marcus Wallaby (@kramdeleaf1) October 21, 2019