Board Asks for Statement of Support from Minister

Peel’s Catholic school board trustees want
Ontario’s education minister to issue a public
statement demonstrating the government’s
faith in the ability of local school boards to
deliver as educators and employers.
At the last Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School
Board’s regular public meeting, trustees
approved a resolution calling on Education
Minister Laurel Broten and provincial politicians
to publicly declare confidence in Ontario’s
school boards.
Since the Liberal government signed a
Memorandum of Understanding with the
province’s Catholic school teachers, local
Catholic school trustees have expressed
disappointment with the actions being taken by
Queen’s Park on the education labour front.
Trustees believe the agreement— which
imposes wage freezes and some restrictions on
the way boards hire teachers and assess
students— has tied the hands of boards as
employers and administrators.
Trustees appear slighted that they were not
consulted before the deal was signed and feel
the local collective bargaining process, under
the Ontario Labour Relations Act, was circumvented by the government.
“The rights of democratically elected trustees were usurped by the signing of the Memorandum of
Understanding by the Minister of Education in July 2012,” trustees charged in their resolution.
Board members said the memorandum has had a negative impact on relationships within the education sector.
Negotiations between the board and its teachers is currently ongoing, but not without some tension. Under the
government’s Bill 115, Putting Students First Act, contract negotiations between Ontario school boards and
teachers have to be completed by Dec. 31 or the legislation will essentially set the terms of new contracts for
them and prevent any strike or lockout action.
“Be it resolved that the Minister of Education and all elected members of provincial parliament publicly
demonstrate their support for the roles, rights and responsibilities of local school boards in Ontario as they exist
in both the Education Act and the Ontario Labour Relations Act,” the resolution concluded.
Trustees are asking the Ontario Catholic School Trustees Association (OCSTA) and other Catholic boards across
the province to support the resolution.
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