Education workers rally across Ontario for better public education support

Ontario teachers and education workers held coordinated rallies across the province on Saturday, calling on the Ford government to better support the public education sector. Students deserve schools that are safe. They deserve qualified teachers in their classrooms. They deserve access to support when they need it. Alongside the event at Queen's Park, rallies also took place in Thunder Bay, Ottawa, Sudbury and London. Some of the issues the rallies hoped to call attention to include rising class sizes, what they call chronic underfunding of the school system, improving safety in schools, and better support for special education and mental health. This comes as negotiations between the education unions and the provincial government have stalled after teachers' collective bargaining agreements expired at the end of August. That stall, in part due to disagreements over the level at which certain issues should be negotiated, which is currently being ruled on by the Ontario Labour Relations Board. The province says it has invested a record $30.6 billion in core education funding for the 2026-27 school year. In a statement to CBC News, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Education said that while the province respects the union's right to bring issues to the Labour Relations Board, they argue the process has delayed the continuation of bargaining and they will be, quote, ready and willing to negotiate whenever the unions are. The province's five major education unions are also currently set to hold strike votes in November. The vote passing does not necessarily mean a strike will occur, but the hope is that a strong strike mandate will allow negotiations to proceed. Oscar McCarson, CBC News, Toronto.