The Globe and Mail Tuesday, November 4, 1997
PROVINCE, SCHOOL BOARDS CLASH
Government thwarted in bid for an injunction,
but talks to end teachers strike continue
By Richard Mackie and Jennifer Lewington
TORONTO -- The Ontario government, thwarted yesterday in its bid to
get a court to order an end to the eight-day-old walkout by teachers, tried
to put the onus on school boards to take action to bring the province's 2.1-
million students back to class.
But school board officials made it clear late yesterday that they expect
the government and the teachers unions to settle their differences over Bill
160, the government's sweeping legislation to overhaul the $14-billion
school system.
School board representatives indicated that any initiatives, such as a
request to the Ontario Labour Relations Board, would be decided
separately by each school board, which could be time-consuming.
By itself, the ruling by Mr. Justice James MacPherson of the Ontario
Court's General Division on the government's bid for a back-to-work
injunction, and the government's reaction to it, threatened to extend the
teachers walkout by at least several more days.
The government had been counting on obtaining the injunction despite the
vigorous defence waged by the unions. The government has watched
support for its stand slide in opinion polls and focus groups.
At Queen's Park, Progressive Conservative MPPs are privately
complaining that they are being flooded with complaints about the
government's admission that it plans to take up to $700-million out of the
education system.
After the ruling was announced yesterday, Education Minister Dave
Johnson tried at a news conference to press the school boards to act, while
officials for the government and the teachers unions resumed talks to seek
a compromise.
At the same time, the government and the unions tried to blame each
other for their failure to reach a settlement at a day-long session on
Sunday. Yesterday, each side called on the other to make proposals to end
the dispute.
Mr. Johnson indicated that the government had dug in for a prolonged
fight as Bill 160 continues to roll through the legislative process. The
deadline for submitting amendments to the proposed legislation is 5 p.m.
tomorrow, and it could become law in less than three weeks.
Eileen Lennon, president of the Ontario Teachers Federation, the
umbrella organization for the province's 126,000 teachers, said at a news
conference that the court ruling is a moral victory for teachers. She urged
the government to listen to Judge MacPherson's cautions about the
potential impact of the bill.
"The decision today is bolstering to us," she said. "I hope it gives the
government pause to reflect on their course of action to date."
Privately, officials of the five teachers unions and the OTF are
concerned about how long teachers, who are receiving no pay during the
dispute, will stay united.
Ms. Lennon also acknowledged "the disruption that the protest causes
in the lives of students and parents." But, she maintained, "it is the
government that has caused this, and it is up to the government to start to
listen to the concerns of the citizens of this province and to make the
changes that are necessary."
Mr. Johnson said in response: "I'm just wondering how it can be
considered to be a moral victory when children are losing out on their
schooling."
Meanwhile, school board officials showed little enthusiasm for jumping
into the fray, not the least because that might take pressure off the two
sides.
"Our most important position is to encourage the two sides to come to
some understanding," said Patrick Daly, president of the Ontario Separate
School Trustees Association. He added that a negotiated settlement
between the government and the teachers "is the only way this will be
resolved in the long run."
The executive members of his association are to hold a meeting today
to consider their options in the wake of the court ruling.
Lynn Peterson, president of the Ontario Public School Boards
Association, said "it's a local decision" for boards to seek relief from the
Ontario Labour Relations Board. As the employers of the province's
teachers, it is up to each board to make a request, which board officials feel
could take longer than negotiating a deal.
Ms. Peterson said her association had not yet received a copy of the
judge's ruling, but hoped to send out options for action by individual
boards as early as today.
She said part of the reluctance of boards to move against the teachers is
that communities are split over the walkout, making it difficult for trustees
to respond to local wishes. Only weeks ago, in arguing the case for
overhauling the school system, Premier Mike Harris said boards could not
be trusted.
"The legislation is theirs," Ms. Peterson said of the government. "And
the teachers are protesting against the government. Now we're going to
have to fix it?"
Despite the strike, an official of the Labour Relations Board said
yesterday that only one request for a back-to-work order had been received
from an individual in one school district.
Mr. Johnson's call for the school boards to act comes in the wake of
government legislation that will cut the number of boards to 72 on Jan. 1,
with their taxing and other powers severely eroded by the government.
Back-to-work orders issued by the labour board can be enforced with
fines of up to $1,000 for individuals and up to $25,000 for unions.
"What the school boards do is completely up to them," Mr. Johnson
said. "They will have to make that decision. And in view of the judgement
today, I can only suspect that some of them may be looking at that
alternative."
Back-to-work legislation is a possibility, he acknowledged, but only a
slim one now. "I wouldn't say that the government has completely ruled it
out."
Recalling the legislature and passing the legislation could take as long
as two weeks.
Judge MacPherson, in a lengthy decision critical of the government and
its legislation, said the attempt to get a back-to-work order was
"significantly premature."
He added that the government had failed to prove that the walkout is
causing irreparable harm. "There is no direct evidence of any actual harm
to students. There is no direct evidence of any harm to any parent."
Further, he praised the behaviour of the teachers. "They are typically
law-abiding people. They are deeply committed to the education of their
students and they have behaved in an entirely peaceful fashion throughout
this first week of the strike."
Asked about a possible teacher-initiated move to end the strike, Ms.
Lennon said that "we continue to evaluate the protest on an ongoing basis."
With the strike into its second week and with the adverse publicity from
Judge MacPherson's ruling, there is increasing attention at Queen's Park to
the long-term political impact of the battle with the teachers.
Early in the dispute, the government had an advantage in public
opinion. But since Mr. Harris acknowledged four days before the strike
started that the government was committed to cutting up to $700-million
out of the education system, public opinion has been turning around,
according to both the Environics Research and Angus Reid polling
organizations.
Political observers say that the effects of the strike may be felt in the
next provincial election, likely in 1999.
"I can't see how it couldn't possibly fail to have major implications for
how people perceive its managerial skills," said Graham White, a political
science professor at the University of Toronto and the author of several
studies on Ontario politics.
"Lots of things can happen between now and the next election. But I
have to think this is a very serious setback for the government in terms of
the image it wants to portray as solid, competent managers, with a clear
agenda, who know how to get there."
