Public elementary school teachers across Ontario have voted 98% in favour of strike action, if an agreement can’t be reached with the Ford government.
Lori Ridley-White is regional president of the Elementary Teachers Federation, covering schools between Temagami and Hearst, including Timmins.
She says there’s no local breakdown on the vote result.
“Because it’s a central vote, all of the votes were taken and tabulated together,” she reports.
Lori Ridley-White
(Photo supplied)
“We expect our goals… to be dealt with in a serious manner”
Ridley-White’s message to parents is that the 83,000 teachers aren’t yet in a legal strike position, because their dispute is still in conciliation.
“There’s a number of steps that have to be taken before that,” says Ridley-White. For instance, a no-board report would be one of those steps.” That’s when the clock would start ticking towards a strike.
“The 98% strike vote result just means that our members are solidly behind ETFO,” Ridley-White adds, “and we want all parties at the central table to know that we expect our goals around kindergarten, special education supports, fair hiring practices and so on to be dealt with in a serious manner.”
