TORONTO — More than two million Ontario students started class Tuesday under expired teacher and education-worker contracts. There is still no central deal, and the first attempt to unstick bargaining already failed.Agreements covering more than 255,000 staff lapsed Aug. 31. Education Minister Paul Calandra said schools would open on time and that the old contracts would be honoured. They did. The map of what gets bargained where did not move.A Sept. 2 session at the Ontario Labour Relations Board between CUPE-OSBCU and the province ended without agreement on which items belong at the central table and which stay with local boards. That fight now goes to a full Board hearing expected this fall. Four of the five central tables remain paused on the same scope dispute.A legal walkout still needs conciliation and a no-board report. Neither has been requested. No strike vote has been reported..Ontario teacher contracts expire after government skipped early talks.The five union presidents said Sept. 1 that Queen’s Park is trying to pull long-standing local items — staffing timelines for transfer, surplus and redundancy, and local professional-development funding — onto the provincial table. They have booked a province-wide day of action for Sept. 16, a leadership conference Sept. 18–20, and rallies Oct. 24.Calandra’s office issued a statement saying the first step remains deciding which issues are central and which stay local. “Those decisions are still underway, with some unions choosing to bring this matter to the Ontario Labour Relations Board,” press secretary Emma Testani said. “We respect their decision to do so and at all times are ready to continue discussions on the scope of central versus local issues before proceeding to the next stage of negotiations.”Calandra says he is still optimistic a settlement can be reached. ETFO president David Mastin had earlier signalled labour peace through September. The old agreements still apply.Students also walked into mandatory written finals — 20% of the mark in Grade 9–10 core courses, 25% in Grade 11–12 — with Grade 9 EQAO math counting as that exam. Attendance and participation now make up 15% of Grades 9–10 marks and 10% in the senior years; more than two unexcused absences knocks a student off the full slice. Grade 10 students must score 70% on a financial-literacy test to graduate. Every one of the 72 boards now has a student and family support office. Queen’s Park is spending $60 million on Nelson’s Edwin platform for Grades 1–12.Education funding is $30.6 billion for 2026–27, plus more than $1 billion in new and expanded school spaces this fall. The government had a legal window in March to open central talks early. It did not use it. Notice to bargain went out June 3.
