By Pepper Parr
November 8th, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
OPINION
The students are back in the classrooms.
The members of the provincial Legislature have yet to assemble to rescind the bill they passed that imposed a four year contract on support staff and took away the right they have to strike.
We are told that the Legislature will return on Monday. The hope appears to be that a deal will be in place by then.
The unions are back at the bargaining table going over a revised offer.
Union representation from across the country gathered in Toronto – the government blinked.
This all came to being when more than two dozen union leaders who flew in from across the country to gather on a stage at the Sheraton hotel in Toronto that included some of the eight private-sector unions that endorsed the Progressive Conservatives in the June 2 election were opposed to his bill.
That forced the premier’s U-turn.
Doug Ford: not a happy man.T
It was an incredible show of force that included fear of a general strike next Monday.
When the Legislature resumes Monday, Ford will repeal Bill 28, the Keeping Students in Class Act, which had only passed last Thursday.
The immediate impact is the kids are back in the classroom. The larger impact, hopefully one that is being understood and appreciated, is that the public can force a government to change.
It will be interesting to see how chastened the members of the Progressive Party are when they gather on Monday – and how much of a shift there is in the way Doug Ford gets thing done.
The residents of Burlington can take something away from recent events – you can change what your local government does.
Kudos to those who took a stand and forced the change of heart.
As to, ” you can change what your local government does”. Sure, as long as the proverbial “we” have a saleable position and more importantly “solidarity”.
Absolutely right Joe both are the key-along with perfect timing. When we address an important issue eg unnecessary c-diff deaths at Joe Brant and time rolls by without accountability and thus risk to others of the same thing, we think about the E W wall that divided Germany that came down in one day and hope again rises that one day there will be justice for the affected unsuspecting families.