Ottawa’s public elementary schools closed Jan. 11.
Ottawa’s public elementary schools will be closed on Friday, Jan. 11, as a one-day protest is staged by teachers across the province.
The Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario announced that 76,000 teachers will walk off the job to protest the Ontario government’s invoking of Bill 115, legislation which enforces a two-year contract that freezes wages and bans teachers’ strikes.
“This protest is aimed squarely at the government and education minister, not those school boards who pursued legal collective bargaining with our locals,” said a press release from the ETFO. “It is shameful that the minister tied their hands with the limiting parameters of Bill 115. The government can prorogue the legislature but it can’t prorogue democracy.”
Teachers will picket the schools said Sharlene Hunter, spokesperson for the Ottawa public school board.
“They didn’t tell us which ones,” she said.
Metroland Media contacted the Ottawa-Carleton Elementary Teachers’ Federation but no one was immediately available for comment.
The Ottawa public board today advised parents to make child care arrangements as all elementary schools will be closed on Friday.
High schools will be open and bus service will operate as usual said the Ottawa public school board.
Extended day programs run by the board run as usual on Friday.
“I apologize for the inconvenience this will cause our students and their families,” said Jennifer Adams, director of the Ottawa public board. “We greatly appreciate your patience and understanding during this difficult time.”
More information will be communicated to parents via telephone messages, letters from school and through the board website at www.ocdsb.ca.