The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

905877-6944 33 Mountainview Rd. North, Georgetown Thursday, April 16, 2015 Halton Hills' award-winning newspaper serving Acton & Georgetown 72 Pages 50 Cents (+HST) Volunteers are celebrated See four pages inside Visit us at www.theifp.ca facebook.com/Independent&FreePress Twitter: @IFP_11 Home show Halton Hills Chamber of Com- merce hosts the Health, Home & Happiness Show this weekend. See four pages inside Food Drive More than 10,000 lbs were col- lected during annual Spring Food Drive in Acton. See page 14 Bargaining continues as Halton high school teachers in strike-lockout position April 17 Representatives of the Halton public school board and the local secondary school teachers union continued ne- gotiations yesterday (Wednesday), de- spite contract talks breaking off at the provincial level earlier this week. The Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF), Dis- trict 20 Halton, and the Halton District School Board have been negotiating non-monetary issues since mid-Feb- ruary. After the provincial conciliator brought in to aid the bargaining process issued a no-board report at the end of March, it put the two local sides in a le- gal strike or lockout position as of this Friday (April 17). However, under the Ontario Labour Relations Act, a minimum of five days' notice must be given before any strike action or lockout. OSSTF District 20 Halton Local President Brad Fisher said on Tuesday that in Halton no notice has been given or received. As well, no decision has been made by the union on lesser dis- ruptions such as a possible job action, he said. The provincial OSSTF union, which is representing Ontario's public high school teachers, walked away from pro- vincial talks saying it will return "when the employer gets serious." Michael Barrett, president of the Ontario Public School Boards' Asso- ciation, said the union has accused his organization and the government of "not being serious with regards to ne- gotiations, but I would suggest that we are serious about getting a collective agreement and that negotiations are certainly a two-way street." Fisher said his group wants to keep meeting with the local school board. "We're hoping for the best but plan- ning for the worst." "We've only met (locally) about five times. It's not enough," Fisher said. Halton board Education Director David Euale said local negotiations couldn't start until earlier this year. "Local negotiations were given the go-ahead by the provincial government and the union on Feb. 3, following the establishment of what items were sub- ject to central and local negotiations," he said in an email Tuesday. "Although the secondary teachers contract expired on Aug. 31, 2014, lo- cal negotiations could not start prior to this determination. On Feb. 5, two days after the go-ahead, the local union contacted the board to establish dates. Ground rules were exchanged and dates were established in a meeting with the teachers on Feb. 19…," said Euale, who offered no comment on the state of local negotiations. The talks in Halton are centered on non-monetary issues. Anything of monetary value is bargained provin- cially at a central table. It is the first time the two-tiered bargaining process has been used in Ontario. Teachers province-wide have been without a contract since Aug. 31, 2014. The provincial government has said there is no money for raises in the pub- lic sector. "A lot of people think that teachers are only concerned with monetary (is- sues) but that's not true," said Fisher. Working conditions and hours can be part of non-monetary items. Parents seeking more information about a possible strike or lockout can visit the Halton board's Frequently Asked Questions section at http://goo. gl/ziMTzc. By Tim Whitnell Metroland Media Group Continued on page 10 Under the Ontario Labour Relations Act, a minimum of five days' notice must be given before any strike action or lockout. OSSTF District 20 Halton Local President Brad Fisher said on Tuesday that in Halton no notice has been given or received. www.RealEstateGeorgetown.com Your Home Sold For 100% Market Value Guaranteed Or I Will Pay You The Difference* 905-877-3629 Direct* Angie Cormpilas Broker REMAX REAL ESTATE CENTRE INC., BROKERAGE EFFIE DIMOU Sales Representative www.georgetownrealty.ca edimou@georgetownrealty.ca Thinking of buying or selling? Call Effie Dimou for all your real estate needs. 905-873-6111 Dir: 416-991-4247