SCHOOL FOR THOUGHT

The Irresistible Force and the Immovable Object

It was only a matter of time. For almost ten years, the Ontario government has been giving the province’s teachers’ unions virtually everything they asked for - in a successful effort to buy labour peace. Maybe the premier thought that giving the teachers’ unions lavish contracts, control of the Ontario College of Teachers, cancellation of “teacher testing”, and on and on would earn him some lasting goodwill but, if so, he has now been soundly disabused of this idea.

For those who haven’t been paying attention, Ontario has just had a wake-up call in the form of the Drummond Report. The province must tame its $16 billion deficit or risk going the way of Greece. So everyone needs to suffer a little but, right? Well, surprise, the province’s teachers’ unions find the idea of salary freezes and cuts to retirement payouts of unused sick days anathema. Refusing to participate in talks with the province, the unions are calling the notion “unacceptable” and “an unprecedented attack on members’ rights”. 

This is a case of an irresistible force meeting an immovable object. I predict that the irresistible force (budget cuts) will prevail, but only after bitter antagonism, including teacher strikes, that will be horrible for the students and parents. 

This is going to be good for the province’s private schools. Ontario parents should start saving their pennies.