About 5,000 educators outraged by Premier imposing a two-year wage freeze and curbing their collective bargaining rights rallied in protest Tuesday on the front lawn at Queen’s Park.
It’s a comeuppance for McGuinty, who has counted on support from the powerful education unions that loathed his Progressive Conservative predecessors Mike Harris and Ernie Eves, to remain in office since 2003.
While the Liberals increased teachers’ compensation by more than 25 per cent over the past nine years — and enjoyed labour peace — the warm relationship has ended.
“Mr. McGuinty, we will never ever, ever forget this betrayal,” Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario president Sam Hammond told the raucous crowd, many of whom chanted “liar, liar” when the premier’s name was mentioned.
Many of the protest signs in the crowd backed up that message, such as one reading: “Dalton, I’m breaking up with you. It’s not me. It’s YOU.”
Safely inside the legislative assembly, McGuinty stressed that with a $14.8 billion budget deficit, the government “can’t afford” delays on getting teachers’ contracts nailed down.
“We are, in fact, running out of runway,” the premier said, referring existing deals rolling over this Saturday, which would incur $473 million in costs as teachers move up the salary grid and all teachers continue to accumulate sick days that can be cashed upon retirement.
There is, however, discomfort in Liberal ranks over McGuinty’s strategy — MPP Kim Craitor (Niagara Falls) wore a “respect teachers, respect collective bargaining” button on his lapel, but declined to say if he’d vote against his government.
“We should have had faith in our support workers and our teachers that they would have found a solution,” Craitor told reporters at the rally, bristling at suggestions he is breaking ranks.
“Give me a break. You stand up for what you believe in and principle. Sometimes I’ll agree with the government, sometimes I don’t.”
Indeed, teachers feel as if they are being used as political pawns to help the Liberals win Sept. 6 byelections in Kitchener—Waterloo and Vaughan.
The Grits recalled the legislature two weeks early to ram through a law that would foist new contract terms upon the province’s teachers.
With Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak vowing to support the minority Liberals’ wage-freeze bill, it should pass next week.
While comparisons were made between Tuesday’s crowd and throngs of furious teachers who protested against former premier Mike Harris on the front lawn at Queen’s Park in the 1990s — including 22,000 at a November 1997 rally — there’s seems to be more bitterness about McGuinty.
“In some ways this is worse than Harris. He never pretended to respect teachers, he never called us partners and he never said it was fair,” said Susan Rab, who teaches law, economics and social studies at Sir Wilfrid Laurier high school in Ottawa.
“I don’t think McGuinty understands that he’s risking the progress that he’s made,” she added, standing amid a sea of protest signs with slogans like “please show us some respect” and “stop bullying me.”
Teachers are furious that the minority Liberal government doesn’t trust them to negotiate responsible contracts when they’re already entrusted with the care of Ontario’s children, Rab said.
A Grade 2 teacher from Guelph, who also came to Queen’s Park for rallies against Harris, said educators wouldn’t go down without a fight even though the odds are against them.
“I’m going to be able to live with myself because I was here and did what I could both here and in Kitchener to stop this railroading,” said Mary Ann Randall, who usually votes Liberal but is volunteering for the NDP in the Kitchener—Waterloo byelection.
“I’m not sure the NDP is a choice, but they’re an alternative,” added Randall, carrying a sign depicting McGuinty as a pirate with a black eye patch and the slogan: “Beatings will continue until morale improves.”
Education Minister Laurel Broten ducked questions on why she didn’t address the crowd.
“I look to have the opportunity to talk to teachers on many occasions, to hear what they have to say,” an uncomfortable Broten told reporters after question period in the legislature.
Her bill would freeze teachers’ pay — except for seniority grid movement — impose three unpaid days off, halve the number of annual sick days to 10, stop unused sick days from being banked and cashed out at retirement, and ban strikes and lockouts for two years.
The legislation is based on a deal reached weeks ago with the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association and agreed to by Catholic boards in Toronto, York, Brant-Haldimand-Norfolk and the Sault Ste Marie area.
In Windsor-Essex, the government on Tuesday had to appoint a supervisor to run the local Catholic board because of persistent financial troubles.
With the board unable to balance its budget five out of the last six years, Broten named Norbert Hartmann as supervisor effective next Tuesday.
Original Article
Source: the star
Author: Rob Ferguson and Robert Benzie
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