Ontario schools reopened for in-person learning today after Premier Doug Ford said he “extended an olive branch” to the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents 55,000 education support staff.
Ford said Bill 28, the back-to-work legislation that used the notwithstanding clause to impose a four-year contract on education workers, would be repealed if the workers returned to their jobs and allowed students to get back to school.
Contract negotiations have now resumed, following a two-day walkout that shut down many schools in the province beginning on Nov. 4.
“We said we’ll repeal legislation including the notwithstanding clause if they agree to end their strikes. I’m so relieved that CUPE accepted our offer… Today kids are back in class, exactly where they belong,” Ford said at a Nov. 8 press conference….