TORONTO — Education Minister Paul Calandra said Thursday he remains “very optimistic” that contracts can still be reached with Ontario’s teachers’ and education workers’ unions, even as most will start the school year without new agreements.Speaking at the opening of the new Saint Vincent de Paul Catholic Elementary School in Bradford, Calandra pledged that schools will open “as usual” after Labour Day.“The year will start as scheduled, and it is my expectation that kids will be in the classroom for a very long time,” he said. When asked if parents should plan for a strike at the start of the year, he answered: “There’s no reason why we shouldn’t expect the year to be completed”This fall, 35 new and expanded schools are opening across Ontario, creating more than 18,000 new student spaces and more than 1,000 licensed childcare spaces. The government has spent more than $1 billion on these projects within its broader $30 billion plan to build, expand and renew schools..On the labour front, bargaining is paused for every major union except the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association. The impasse centres on which issues belong at the central table versus local tables and has been referred by several unions to the Ontario Labour Relations Board.Calandra called the delay “not unexpected” and said he respects the unions’ decision to go to the board. Existing contracts remain in force and will be honoured through the coming year.He rejected claims that the government is refusing to discuss wages or class sizes, arguing those items cannot be properly negotiated until the central-local scope is settled.“You can’t negotiate wages, you can’t negotiate classroom sizes if you don’t know exactly what you’re negotiating central and what you’re negotiating locally,” he said..At the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario’s annual meeting earlier this week, president David Mastin described the system as in “crisis,” pointing to what he called chronic underfunding, pressure on sick days and difficult classroom conditions. Flanked by other union leaders, Mastin said strike action is not the first choice and that any strike-vote process would proceed step by step to pressure the government.Calandra noted that the unions have been running their own advertising for well over a year and will outspend the province. He confirmed his ministry is prepared for every eventuality, including its own messaging, while still seeking a negotiated settlement focused on students.Curriculum changes taking effect this year include mandatory exams, greater weight on attendance and participation in grading, new financial literacy and math tools, and direct funding for elementary teachers to purchase classroom supplies.The arrival of thousands of new student spaces just as contracts expire leaves parents watching the coming months closely. While the minister projects confidence that classrooms will remain open, the unresolved procedural dispute and the history of escalating tensions later in the school year mean the test of that optimism is still ahead.You can watch the full press conference below.
