Ontario's 126,000 teachers stayed away from work on Monday, October 27 following the break-down of negotiations between representatives of Ontario's five teachers' unions and the Harris government on Bill 160, The Education Quality Improvement Act. Picket lines were up at virtually all public and secondary schools in Ontario, with many students joining their teachers on the line. The teachers' strike is also being supported by non-educational staff in the schools, most of whom are members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees. It also involves principals and vice-principals. Negotiations, facilitated by retired Ontario Justice Dubin, came to a halt on Sunday, October 26 when the representatives of the Ontario government refused to table any substantive amendments to Bill 160 and teachers refused to retract their demand that control over education matters such as class sizes and teacher preparation time be kept in the hands of teachers and school boards. Bill 160, which has been approved in principle by the Ontario legislature, gives the Cabinet control over school teacher preparation time, class sizes, education property tax rates. It also allows for the employment of non-certified teachers in schools. The teachers' unions and other organizations concerned with public education have charged that the main aim of Bill 160 is to give the Cabinet the powers it needs to further cut education spending. This charge was confirmed last week by a government document revealing plans to cut $667 million more from the education spending. Since coming to power, the Harris Conservatives have already cut more than $1 billion from education. By assuming control over matters such as class size and teacher preparation time and education taxation, the Cabinet will have much broader scope for cutting back spending than it did previously. Amongst other things, power over class sizes and teachers preparation time, now a matter of negotiations between teachers and school boards, would enable the government to effect changes which could eliminate as many as 10,000 teaching positions across the province. Even though the Ontario government is currently holding public hearings on Bill 160, Johnson has clearly indicated that the government has no intention of listening either to the demands of the teachers, or other citizens and residents who do not agree with the sweeping powers over education that Bill 160 will give to the Ontario Cabinet. TML DAILY, 10/97 Shawgi Tell Graduate School of Education University at Buffalo [EMAIL PROTECTED]