Ontario’s governing Liberals announced Thursday they have imposed new contracts on tens of thousands of teachers and education workers in public schools across the province, a move union leaders called a “disgraceful use of government power.”
Education Minister Laurel Broten said she used Bill 115 to impose the new collective agreements on elementary and high school teachers, to freeze wages and stop strikes as the government battles a $14.4-billion deficit.
The struggles to match government spending and income create so many painful situations. I don’t know enough about the details of this situation, but so many are trying to figure out what is fair and sensible. It is easy to be calm and reasonable until your program or check is diminished.
The issue with #Bill115 has nothing to do with government spending. The unions were very willing to negotiate for a spending neutral outcome. However, the governmet mired in scandals and unethical behaviour, threw the teachers under the bus in order to win a by-election and turn a minority government into a majority. It backfired and now everybody loses. One can just hope that the voters will hold the government responsible and support someone else!