Ontario high school teachers hold one-day strike Friday

Students at more than a dozen Ontario school boards will be out of class Friday as high school teachers hold a one-day strike.

The Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) says 16 boards will take part in the job action including Hamilton-Wentworth District and Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic school boards.

“Doug Ford and his Minister of Education continue to claim that they are laser-focused on keeping students in class,” said OSSTF/FEESO President Harvey Bischof in a news release. “Yet, for more than two months now, they have simply ignored our repeated offer to do just that by postponing pending strike actions.”

Bischoff called on the Premier and education minister Stephen Lecce to abandon their “campaign of disinformation” and negotiate an agreement that is good for all students in the province.

The government has said it wants to modernize education and ensure students are digitally literate by adding mandatory online courses.

Union leaders, some parents, and school boards object mandatory e-learning over concerns it provides an inferior experience and hurts students who don’t have computers or high-speed internet.

On Thursday, Lecce spoke at Queen’s Park and said the government would ensure schools were well-equipped with internet access. He also said exceptions would be made for some students with special education needs.

The union representing Ontario’s French-language teachers is set to resume contract talks with the government Friday.

Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association announced Thursday it will hold a province-wide walkout on March 5.

All four major teachers’ unions have been in contract talks with the government since September 2019.