News Labour Relations
No deal ahead of one day teachers strike in Ontario as rhetoric ramps up

TORONTO (CP) – The president of the union representing Ontario’s high school teachers says there is almost no chance to avoid a one-day strike set for Wednesday.

Harvey Bischof says the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation and the provincial government have not met this week to continue contract negotiations, making the job action likely.

The one-day strike will close schools across nine school boards including the Toronto District School Board, the largest in the province.

It follows a province-wide strike last week that shuttered every public high school and some elementary schools.

Bischof says Education Minister Stephen Lecce is ratcheting up rhetoric around the tense talks instead of engaging in constructive bargaining.

The minister urged the union to call off the strike and sit down with a third-party mediator in a bid to reach an agreement.