“OVER THE LAST DECADE OR SO, ONTARIO HAS INTRODUCED IMPORTANT EDUCATION INITIATIVES SUCH AS PRIMARY CLASS SIZE CAPS AND FULL-DAY KINDERGARTEN. THE LIBERAL GOVERNMENT HAS INCREASED EDUCATION FUNDING SINCE TAKING OFFICE IN 2003, BUT THE ADDITIONAL FUNDING HAS ONLY GONE PART WAY IN ADDRESSING THE $2 BILLION IN CUTS IMPOSED BY THE FORMER PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE GOVERNMENT.”
grid effective 2019. The government backed off its demands to increase class sizes and cut resource teachers. The unions, in fact, achieved lower class sizes for pre-school and Kindergarten programs, which will now range between 14 and 17 students. The teachers, along with other public sec- tor unions, did concede to increasing their retirement age from 60 to 61. Perhaps in response to union activism
and parent protests, the Quebec 2016 bud- get announced a three percent increase to its education spending for 2016–17 and the following two years, not enough to address shortfalls identified by the unions but at least above inflation and more than the pre- vious year’s 0.2 percent increase. Negative reaction to concession bargain-
ing is growing among teacher unions. In November, Nova Scotia teachers voted down a tentative agreement that offered a two- year wage freeze followed by a one percent increase in the third year. Members of the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Association (STA) walked off the job for the first time in history in 2012 in response to an unacceptable con- tract offer. In their next round, STA mem- bers voted twice against tentative agreements before a settlement was achieved through a fraught arbitration process. Some provincial education unions have
fared better on the negotiations front. Through their local bargaining, Manitoba teachers avoided salary freezes by achiev- ing settlements averaging two percent for 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, and 3.02 per- cent for 2017–18. The Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers’ Association (NTLA) negotiated a wage package in 2009 that gave their members a 21.5 percent increase over four years that helped address the fact they earn the lowest teacher salaries in the coun- try. In July 2014, NTLA signed a four-year
34 ETFO VOICE | SUMMER 2016
agreement that included a five percent sal- ary increase plus a signing bonus of $1,400. In the Yukon, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories, where teacher recruitment and retention are constant challenges and the cost of living is high, teachers continue to be the top-earners in the country.
PENT-UP DEMAND FOR EDUCATION REFORMS
Over the last decade or so, Ontario has in- troduced important education initiatives such as primary class size caps and full- day Kindergarten. The Liberal government has increased education funding since tak- ing office in 2003, but the additional fund- ing has only gone part way in addressing the $2 billion in cuts imposed by the for- mer Progressive Conservative government. Not all cuts implemented by the previous government have been restored. Programs such as special education, English as a sec- ond language, design and technology, physi- cal education, and the arts continue to be shortchanged at the elementary level. ETFO’s Building Better Schools initiative presents a plan for moving forward on these issues, but the additional investment conflicts with the provincial government’s austerity agen- da. The 2016 Ontario budget projects that annual increases to education spending will average only 1.2 percent between 2014–15 and 2018–19. Across Canada, few provincial govern-
ments are introducing positive new initia- tives; some have introduced cuts to educa- tion. British Columbia has increased class sizes and reduced the number of specialist teachers. Alberta has pulled back from intro- ducing full-day Kindergarten and class sizes are increasing. This has happened despite funding for an additional 740 teachers, as the province fails to keep up with growing
student enrolment, a rare phenomenon in Canada. Looking eastward, New Brunswick has eliminated 600 of about 8,000 full-time teachers since 2011. The cuts are a result of declining enrolment but coincide with the province’s first inclusion policy for students with special needs adopted in 2013. In the words of a New Brunswick Teachers’ Associa- tion staff member, “We have fewer students but greater needs.” In the face of the econom- ic downturn, Newfoundland is making diffi- cult choices. Its 2016 budget announced a se- ries of tax hikes as well as program cuts. Class size in grades four to 12 will be increased and multi-graded classrooms expanded, resulting in 203.75 fewer teaching positions. The prov- ince is moving ahead, however, with its com- mitment to introduce full-day Kindergarten in the fall, which will partially offset the staff cuts. Nova Scotia, in welcome contrast, de- livered a budget this spring that allocates an additional $6.4 million to reduce class sizes up to Grade six.
REGULATORY BODIES FOR EDUCATION PROFESSIONS: A GROWING TREND?
The majority of teacher unions have their own internal process for responding to complaints brought against members and for determining the appropriate discipline for those found guilty of non-professional behaviour. However there may be a slow but growing trend towards arms-length, self- regulatory bodies like the Ontario College of Teachers and the more recent College of Early Childhood Educators. The British Columbia College of Teach-
ers, founded in 1987, was the first Canadian teacher regulatory body and informed the legislation drafted for the Ontario body. The BC College operated until 2011 when the government disbanded it for, in its view,
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