TDSB to close all schools for in-person learning on Friday as education workers vow to walk off job
CBC
The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) says it will close all schools for in-person learning on Friday, the same day some 55,000 Ontario education workers are set to walk off the job in a province-wide protest.
On Monday the union representing the workers — the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) — said its members will walk off the job Friday, regardless of Ontario's proposed anti-strike legislation, which was tabled Monday and invokes the notwithstanding clause to block job action by the union.
As a result of this announcement, the board will have no option but to close all schools for in person learning for all students on Friday Nov. 4, the TDSB said in a statement Monday night.
"While we understand that this will be challenging for many families, parents/guardians/caregivers will be required to make alternate arrangements for their children," the statement from the TDSB said.
"This is not a decision that we take lightly and we have explored every possible contingency plan to keep schools open.
"Student supervision and safety are our top priorities and without the important services of these school-based employees, we cannot guarantee that our learning environments will remain safe and clean for all students," it added
At a news conference earlier on Monday, CUPE said education workers will "withdraw their labour" to protest against the move by the province, which they called a "monstrous overreach."
The Ontario government introduced the Keeping Students in Class Act on Monday, which invokes the notwithstanding clause to impose a contract on education workers and avert a strike. The clause — or Section 33 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms — gives provincial legislatures or Parliament the ability, through the passage of a law, to override certain portions of the charter for a five-year term.
Education workers could face fines of up to $4,000 per day should they strike, the legislation states.
The union held the news conference hours after the provincial government announced it plans to bring in legislation to block the potential job action.
CUPE has said they will explore every avenue to fight the bill, but the government said it intends to use the notwithstanding clause to keep the eventual law in force despite any constitutional challenges.
Speaking to reporters Monday afternoon, Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce called the union's decision to proceed with striking "unacceptable."
"The government has been left with no choice but to take immediate action today," Lecce said, indicating the union rejected its latest offer, adding he believes the legislation is in fact constitutional.
WATCH: 'I will not accept for one day a strike': Stephen Lecce
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