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in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, D ec em be r 26 ,2 01 9 | 20 20 20 NEW YEAR'S COUNTDOWNPARTY TUESDAY, DECEMBER 31. L IVE MUSIC WITH ANTHONY TULLO INFO@THESTOUTMONK.COM THESTOUTMONK.COM 478 Dundas St. W., Oakville • (905) 257-4004 • www.thestoutmonk.com Follow us @thestoutmonk: RiNg iN thE NEW YEAR With CouNtRY MuSiC SiNgER/SoNg WRitER SupERStAR ANthoNY tullo Halton District School Board high schools are closed today, as teachers and support staff take to the streets in defiance of the "severity of the attack on the (education) system" by the provincial govern- ment. Talks between the union that represents pub- lic secondary school teach- ers and the government broke off Monday (Dec. 16) after an unsuccessful at- tempt to reach a tentative deal. The mediator re- quested that both sides re- sume negotiations after the Christmas break, and cancelled a second day of talks planned for yester- day. A one-day strike planned prior to contract talks this week went ahead as scheduled - with 10 boards, including Halton, picketing in front of MPPs' offices and high schools throughout the region. The province an- nounced plans in March to cut one of every four teach- ers from the Ontario high school system, and "that kind of severity is unprece- dented in the years I've been involved in educa- tion," said Harvey Bischof, president of Ontario's OSSTF as he joined strik- ing teachers and support staff outside the Oakville office of MPP Stephen Crawford. "In 30 years in educa- tion, I have never seen a government begin to im- plement its cuts before even getting to the bargain- ing table," said Bischof. "So they already began to reduce the number of support staff, reduce the number of teachers in schools, make an an- nouncement about manda- tory e-learning. These things aren't things they wanted to implement as part of an outcome of a newly-negotiated collec- tive agreement; it's things that they unilaterally did, including legislation to cap bargaining for compensa- tion before we even got to the bargaining table. So their claim about good- faith bargaining has been undermined by their ac- tions all along." Bischof said he hopes that the government uses the next few weeks to re- consider its positions. "It's clear from their own consultations that they conducted and then tried to bury, that parents don't want larger class siz- es. They want their chil- dren to have access to the support staff that give them an equitable shot at success in our school sys- tem. They don't support mandatory e-learning, so I think the government needs to go back and recon- sider its position, align it- self with the wishes of par- ents and then we'll have an opportunity to go forward at the bargaining table." The union's position hasn't changed, said Bis- chof. "But it's for good reason. What we're proposing is the status quo to the qual- ity of education we were able to deliver just last year." UNION PRESIDENT JOINS HDSB STAFF DURING STRIKE ACTION Ontario OSSTF president Harvey Bischof, middle, supports Halton union members during a one-day strike today in front of the offices of Oakville MPP Stephen Crawford. Kathy Yanchus / Torstar KATHY YANCHUS kyanchus@metroland.com NEWS