One-day teacher strike will close every Ontario school Friday

All four major Ontario teachers’ unions will be taking part in one massive province-wide strike affecting all of the province’s over two million students.

The walkout on Feb. 21 will mark the first time all public, French and Catholic teachers will strike on the same day in more than two decades, and the first legal one.

Look for mass marches in high profile areas on Friday from all teacher unions.

The move increases pressure on the Ontario government as contract negotiations have reached an impasse.

Ontario teachers are fighting numerous controversial changes proposed by the Ford government and Education Minister Stephen Lecce insisting salary increases are the main sticking point.

But the teacher unions are asserting that they want the government to commit to full-day kindergarten, restore funding for special needs education, and scrap plans to boost class sizes in high schools, which in effect will lead to thousands of lost teaching positions as well as fewer course offerings. The Ontario teachers are also opposed to the government’s plans to introduce two mandatory online courses in order to graduate.

The teachers, without a contract since last August, have been taking part in work to rule job action, and their unions have individually been holding one-day rotating or province-wide strikes.