Embattled Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce, has “voluntarily” agreed to keep the Kindergarten program – one of the key demands of striking teacher unions. The KG program was under threat of being axed.
Ontario has been – and is facing – rolling walk-outs and job actions from a range of major teacher unions representing elementary, secondary, Catholic and French educator and support staff.
Other union demands include maintaining classroom size, better pay, funding to support the learning needs of special education students, addressing problem of classroom violence, integration of students with diverse learning needs and equitable teacher hiring process.
“Over the past few days, the government has further demonstrated our focus on keeping kids in class through a voluntary agreement. As part of that commitment, and to further underscore my public statements, we have affirmed in writing that we will be maintaining Ontario’s world-class kindergarten program,” said Lecce in a statement issued to the media.
“I have long said that compensation, pay, and benefits, remain a top priority for teachers’ union leaders, and that remains true today…The government has continued to signal reasonableness on issues from special education supports to efforts to counter violence in schools. Yet, the teachers’ union leadership push for compensation that comes with a substantial cost to the taxpayer,” he added.
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