Premier Doug Ford says he doesn’t want to fight CUPE, revoking legislation
Published November 8, 2022 at 10:32 am
Premier Doug Ford announced he will revoke the legislation, Bill 28, which forced a contract on education workers and banned the CUPE strike.
Canadian Union of Public Employees education workers walked out on Friday despite the threat of fines and had planned continued strike action. But yesterday (Nov. 7), Ford said he would revoke the law if CUPE cancelled its walkout.
CUPE then said its 55,000 education workers would return to the job.
The Progressive Conservatives will introduce legislation to repeal Bill 28 in its entirety on Monday (Nov. 14), said Ford in a press conference today (Nov. 8). Asked why he wouldn’t repeal the bill earlier, Ford said the parties agreed to come back to the legislature on Monday.
“I am keeping my word, we are revoking it on Monday,” said Ford.
With the cooperation of the opposition, they expect to get it passed quickly, he added.
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Ford thanked CUPE for getting workers back on the job so students could return to in-person learning.
“Now, both sides need to bring the same spirit of cooperation to negotiations,” Ford said. “I’ve heard CUPE saying, we need to invest more in lower-income workers. I couldn’t agree more. So today, we’re back to the table.”
When asked if Bill 28 damaged relationships with unions, Ford said that he has a good relationship with union representatives such as Joe Mancinelli, but admitted there are things they disagree on.
“I don’t want to fight. I just want the kids in school. That’s what I want to do and I’m past the stage of fighting,” Ford said. “And it’s not worth it. People don’t want it. Parents don’t want it. Students don’t want it for sure.”
Ford claimed the notwithstanding clause was the only tool he had to keep students in class.
“We’ll use every tool at our disposal to make sure the kids are in class,” Ford said.
Ford added that he couldn’t get into details about negotiations but said they are working hard to come to a compromise.
“We want a deal that’s fair for students, fair for parents, fair for taxpayers, and fair for workers, particularly lower income workers. We know we can get there.”
Education Minister Stephen Lecce said they are focusing on the lowest-paid workers and not those that make more than $100,000 a year.
“What we’re trying to do today is demonstrate to the people of Ontario that we are listening to parents by ensuring their kids are in school,” said Lecce. “I just hope we can both come to the table with a commitment to keep the kids in school so that we could all live with this deal and ultimately parents could have some stability in their lives.”
As for when both sides can come to an agreement on a deal, Ford said he can’t say.
“There’s nothing more of a love to see negotiation finish by the end of the week,” he said. “Is it likely? I can’t answer that right now. I really can’t.”
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