Public schools will be closed across Toronto and South Bayview tomorrow as teachers continue their rolling strike action against the Ontario Government. The “alert” image above is on the Maurice Cody Junior Public school site and is on all school sites. Parents are scrambling to arrange for children to be cared for and occupied during this shutdown. Premier Dalton McGuinty called the protest an “illegal strike” and said his government will ask the Ontario Labour Relations Board to prevent the elementary school teachers from walking off the job. Officials said late yesterday that McGuinty will similarly “bring OSSTF’s illegal strike notice to the OLRB in the coming days.” The Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario has suggested that its action is protected under the Charter of Rights as a political protest. Fairly unanimous legal opinion seems to be however that it is actually an illegal strike and as such the union may be subject to fines if it continues to encourage teachers to leave school.
