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Toronto, Ontario – The McGuinty government should focus on balancing the province’s budget, not American-style attacks on teachers. McGuinty’s decision to circumvent negotiations and impose a non-negotiated wage freeze is not putting children’s education first.
“Ontario must balance our province’s budget,” says Mike Schreiner, leader of the Green Party of Ontario (GPO). “The most progressive business leaders know that front line workers are in the best position to identify better, more efficient ways of doing things. The McGuinty government’s failure to work with teachers to identify savings is irresponsible.”
Tax dollars should be spent on important public services, not interest payments on debt. The GPO is calling on the government to work with teachers to identify the most effective and efficient way to achieve cost savings.
The GPO is the only political party discussing the merging of the public and Catholic school boards to eliminate wasteful duplication and provide fair schools for all Ontario students, teachers and educational staff.
In fact, a move to a single school board is supported by the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario (ETFO). At their recent general meeting in Toronto members voted in favour of a motion that would see public funding of public education in Ontario limited to the public system.
The GPO is calling for a public commission to determine the best way of merging the separate and public education systems into a single French and English school board. Studies suggest that this could save $1.3 to $1.6 billion in duplicate administration and operating expenses.
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Media Contact:
Rebecca Harrison
rebeccaharrison@gpo.ca
905-999-5479