From the Provincial Office of OSSTF NEW BILLS INTRODUCED BILL 23, ISLAMIC HERITAGE MONTH ACT NDP MPP Teresa Armstrong (London—Fanshawe) introduced Bill 23, Islamic Heritage Month Act. The bill would proclaim the month of October of each year to be Islamic Heritage Month. BILL 24, MEN’S HEALTH AWARENESS WEEK ACT Liberal MPP Arthur Potts... Read More

From the Provincial Office of OSSTF LEGISLATIVE AGENDA DISRUPTED BY ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL PLOW MATCH The Legislature was adjourned from its regularly scheduled Monday and Tuesday sittings by the International Plowing Match in the community of Minto. The annual expo has progressively become a much-anticipated and highly important event on the... Read More

From the Provincial Office of OSSTF NEW SESSION BEGINS AFTER PROROGATION Fast on the heels of an embarrassing by-election loss in the long-time Liberal stronghold of Scarborough—Rouge River, Premier Kathleen Wynne attempted to re-invigorate her government by proroguing the Legislative Assembly days before it was set to resume. At the same... Read More

From the Provincial Office of OSSTF NEW BILLS INTRODUCED BILL 206, REPRESENTATION AMENDMENT ACT (WAHNAPITAE FIRST NATION) NDP MPP France Gelinas (Nickel Belt) introduced Bill 206, Representation Amendment Act (Wahnapitae First Nation). Gelinas’ bill would shift the electoral boundaries so the Wahnapitae First Nation would move to her riding... Read More

From the Provincial Office of OSSTF AUDITOR GENERAL REPORT ON GOVERNMENT PAYMENTS TO EDUCATION-SECTOR UNIONS After it was revealed last fall that the Liberal government reimbursed education sector unions, including OSSTF/FEESO, for some of the excessive costs for central table bargaining negotiations, the Ontario Legislature’s Public Accounts... Read More

From the Provincial Office of OSSTF AUTISM QUESTIONS RESULT IN MPP’S EJECTION FROM QUESTION PERIOD Hundreds of parents, education workers and community supporters descended on Queen’s Park for a rally in support of maintaining Intensive Behavioural Intervention (IBI) for autistic children five years of age and older. MPPs from the NDP and PC... Read More

From the Provincial Office of OSSTF Ontario Superior Court Rules Bill 115 Violated Charter of Rights and Freedoms In a major victory for Canada’s labour movement, Justice Thomas R. Lederer of the Ontario Superior Court ruled that Bill 115, Putting Students First Act, violated collective bargaining rights under the Charter of Rights and... Read More

From the Provincial Office of OSSTF PROVINCIAL AND DEMONSTRATION SCHOOLS TO STAY OPEN ANOTHER YEAR On the day before a planned rally and a NDP motion, the Liberals delayed the implementation of changes to the province’s provincial and demonstration schools for another school year. The schools targeted for the consultation and potential... Read More

From the Provincial Office of OSSTF. OSSTF/FEESO Strikes Dominate Business of the Legislature After a one week recess, the Ontario Legislature returned to a tumultuous week on the education front. Early Monday, the Education Relations Commission released its advice to the Minister of Education, Liz Sandals (Guelph), declaring that the... Read More

From the Provincial Office of OSSTF. For immediate release: May 27, 2015 (Toronto)—Despite our unequivocal disagreement with the rationale for the ruling received yesterday from the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB), and our very real concerns that this ruling will bring even more turmoil to education sector bargaining, the Ontario... Read More