2 million Canadian students out of class

By Barry Ellsworth

TRENTON, Canada (AA) – About two million students are not in school Friday due to a one-day walkout by teachers in the Canadian province of Ontario.

The day of protest is designed to pressure the government of Premier Doug Ford to return to back to the bargaining table and resume contact talks, union leaders said.

About 30,000 public (Protestant) elementary and Catholic teachers also gathered at the province legislature Friday to demonstrate unity. Government officials have claimed here is conflict between union leaders and members and that parent support of the teachers is weak.

That incensed union leaders.

“When you have a government that claims there is a division between the rank-and-file leadership and the union members when no such division exists – when you have a government that claims that there is a division between parents and educators when overwhelmingly parents support not just our positions but our actions – then I think a demonstration of unity is absolutely vital to show that the government’s messaging is false (and) it puts additional pressure on them to get back to the table,” said Harvey Bischof, head of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation.

Ontario’s teachers have been without a contract since Aug. 31 and months of negotiations to reach an accord have proven fruitless.

Key issues are compensation – the teachers want a two percent wage hike and the province has been steadfast in offering a one percent increase.

The teachers’ compensation demand plus an increase in benefits would cost an additional $1.5 billion over three years at a time when the province is trying to reduce the deficit, the government said.

The province also wants to increase class sizes to 25 from 22. That would result in 10,000 fewer teachers.