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'Very pleased': Simcoe County schools set to reopen Tuesday

'It’s good news. We always want our students in school, and we know that’s the best place for learning,' says local public school trustee and board chairperson
Nikki Cole

All schools in Simcoe County affected by an ongoing labour disruption will be back in session tomorrow morning. 

Simcoe County District School Board (SCDSB) chairperson Jodi Lloyd told BarrieToday that although local board officials are still working out a few details related to some programs, public schools will reopen to in-person learning on Tuesday, Nov. 8 following a standoff between the province and education workers represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).

“It’s good news. We always want our students in school, and we know that’s the best place for learning," Lloyd said. "We are very pleased with this and very pleased that they are going to go back and negotiate the contract. We have always felt that was the best option to negotiate a fair agreement. 

“We are very pleased that cooler heads have transpired.I think it’s fair to everyone to have a fairly negotiated contract.”

Lloyd added that more information will be forthcoming as it’s made available and that parents can expect to receive an update. 

“We have 53,000 students and 7,000 staff. We have to work through all of the details in place, but yes, we will be back in class tomorrow," she said. 

The local Catholic board will also reopen to students first thing tomorrow morning.

"It will be business as usual in our schools with the resumption of student transportation, extracurricular activities, before- and after-school care and community use of schools," Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board director of education Frances Bagley wrote in an email to parents shortly before 2:30 p.m., Monday. 

"In the meantime, we are pleased with these latest developments, and we will continue to pray for a timely and fair resolution. As always, we thank you for your support, understanding and patience," Bagley added. 

In a statement emailed to BarrieToday, the French language Catholic school board Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir, which has schools throughout southern Ontario, from Collingwood to Peterborough and throughout the GTA, Hamilton, Kitchener-Waterloo and Niagara Regions, said its schools will also be open Tuesday, Nov. 8.

"Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) has announced in a press conference that its members will be back to work tomorrow morning. Csc MonAvenir schools will therefore be open tomorrow, Tuesday, November 8, and staff will be ready to welcome their students in person," stated the MonAvenir release.

Parents were happy to hear the latest developments on Monday. 

“It’s great to hear that the kids will be back in school where they belong, but this battle looks like it’s far from over,” said Becky Dewar, who has three school-aged children.

“It’s good to see someone is putting the kids first for a moment. Let’s hope adults can discuss and come to a middle ground soon,” said Jess De Feber, a mother of two.

The decision to close schools came after CUPE workers walked off the job Friday, Nov. 4 despite the Keeping Students in Class Act that imposed a contract on the 55,000 janitors, education assistants and maintenance and invoked the notwithstanding clause, which allows the province to override Charter of Rights and Freedoms sections, end bargaining and impose a contract not agreed to by CUPE. 

Locally, CUPE represents the board’s custodians and maintenance workers with the public board, and custodial staff with the local Catholic board.

“Our focus is on kids in school. Everyone else can state what they are prioritizing,” Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte MPP Doug Downey wtote in a tweet Monday afternoon, noting the province’s offer “provided the largest wage increase for ed workers in over a decade and protects the most generous benefits and pension plan in the country, including 131 paid sick days per year.”

CUPE leaders have promised to stand down their protests in light of the provincial government's announcement Monday morning they will repeal Bill 28, which Premier Doug Ford announced during a press conference held Monday morning he is willing to rescind if the workers' union agrees to end the walkout. He also stated he is willing to be flexible and go back to the bargaining table, as long as CUPE education workers get back into the classroom.

In a joint press conference that brought together public- and private-sector unions representing millions of workers across Ontario and Canada to show their solidarity and joint opposition to Bill 28, Laura Walton, president of CUPE's Ontario School Board Council of Unions, stated they will collapse protest sites starting first thing Tuesday.

“We hope this ... is met with the same good faith by this government in a new proposal at the bargaining table as soon as possible. I will be clear, we're here waiting right now. Time is ticking." 

Walton confirmed CUPE workers will be "at work tomorrow morning," and the union will be back at the bargaining table. When asked about potential strike actions in the future, Walton said CUPE hoped to return to the bargaining table tonight, but that strike action was not off the table, since it's part of Canadian bargaining rights.

She said strike action would require a five-day notice. 

"We're not going into this with our eyes on [a strike], we're going into this with our eyes on getting a real deal," said Walton. "These workers need to be able to afford to go to work."