Ontario CUPE strike: CUPE to hold presser at 11 a.m.; Ford says government willing return to bargaining
The latest Ontario schools news and the school strike from the GTA on Monday. This file will be updated throughout the day. Web links to longer stories if available.
9:47 a.m. (updated) CUPE to hold presser at 11 a.m.
9:30 a.m.: Premier Doug Ford says he is willing to repeal his controversial bill overriding Charter rights and return to the bargaining table if CUPE calls off the strike by school support staff.
In an olive branch meant to turn down the heat as workers remain off the job for a second day - shutting down schools in many boards, and amid talk of a general strike one day next week - Ford and Education Minister Stephen Lecce made the announcement Monday morning as hundreds of education workers protested out front of Queen's Park.
Ford said the government as a gesture of good faith" is willing to repeal Bill 28 but only if CUPE agrees to show a similar gesture of good faith by stopping their strike and letting our kids back into their classrooms."
Students, he added, don't deserve to be caught in the middle of these negotiations ... for the sake of the students, CUPE please accept this offer. Take strike action off the table and let our kids back in class."
Read the full story from the Star's Queen's Park Bureau here.
9:15 a.m. In a press conference on Monday morning at Queen's Park in Toronto, Premier Doug Ford says as a gesture of good faith" the government is willing to rescind the legislation, if CUPE calls off the strike.
9:11 a.m. As both the government and CUPE await a ruling from the province's labour board on the strike by support staff, workers have walked off the job for a second day and continue to protest around the province.
Premier Doug Ford and Education Minister Stephen Lecce are now set to speak to reporters at Queen's Park Monday morning at 9 a.m. - an hour before the Canadian Union of Public Employees and other union leaders are set to announce a massive rally next weekend and the possibility of a daylong general strike Nov. 14.
The government has asked the Ontario Labour Relations Board to rule that the strike by 55,000 school support staff - custodians, early childhood educators, educational assistants, library technicians and others - is illegal. A hearing began last Thursday evening and continued throughout the weekend, wrapping up Sunday afternoon.
Read the full story from the Star's Kristin Rushowy and Robert Benzie
8 a.m. Premier Ford and Education Minister Stephen Lecce are speaking to reporters at Queen's Park at 9 a.m. It will be followed by a CUPE press conference at 10 a.m. at a downtown hotel.
7:55 a.m. Most schools across the GTA shut down on Friday after tens of thousands of Ontario school support workers walked off the job and hit picket lines, a day after talks collapsed between the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and the Ontario government.
Here's the latest update on what is expected to happen at major school boards in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area next week.
Read the updates from Star reporters Jamin Mike and Ana Pereira
6:30 a.m.: A daylong demonstration is planned for Queen's Park Monday, as members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) continue to protest government legislation that imposed a contract on 55,000 provincial education workers and took away their right to strike.
The protest comes as CUPE, the provincial government, parents and students await a decision by the Ontario Labour Relations Board on the legality of the strike that began Friday, when thousands of workers walked off the job.
The government is seeking a ruling that their walkout is illegal, while CUPE contends the job action is a form of legitimate political protest.
Board Chair Brian O'Byrne heard arguments over the course of 16 hours on Saturday and another eight hours on Sunday, before promising to come to a decision as quickly as possible.
CUPE has scheduled a news conference for Monday morning, where the union's national president will be joined by national and provincial labour leaders to discuss the pushback to Bill 28.
The strike closed numerous schools across the province Friday, with even more set to shut on Monday should the work stoppage continue.
The Canadian Press
From Sunday: The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) is advising parents to prepare to keep their children home from school again on Monday, when it will hold a press conference to discuss escalating its fight against the provincial government.
It is expected that CUPE and its labour partners will announce a massive labour rally at Queen's Park on Saturday, with the threat of a broader, general strike on Nov. 14, according to Toronto Star sources, who said the job action was approved by the Ontario Federation of Labour at a weekend meeting of leaders.
The OFL met yesterday (Saturday) and a motion passed" in support of CUPE, said a source.
Starting early Monday morning, the union plans to demonstrate at more than 120 locations across Ontario, including outside the constituency offices of many MPPs.
CUPE is also considering asking all of its members, except those working in medical or nuclear jobs, to walk the picket lines, according to sources close to the union.