Teachers are taking program cuts by the Ford government as a warning of things to come, and they worry that education will take a hit in the next provincial budget.
Craig Smith, president of ETFO’s Thames Valley Teacher Local, says recent program cuts are “a canary in the coal mine.”
“I think what people are feeling is, ‘Okay, there’s something coming, but we’re not sure quite what we’re bracing ourselves for yet,’” said Craig Smith, president of ETFO’s Thames Valley Teacher Local, in an interview with CBC London.
Recent $25 million cuts to school programs will have a deep impact on students, he said. Local teachers are anxiously awaiting decisions on new schools and additions that were promised by the previous Liberal government but are now in limbo.
Smith anticipates gruelling contract negotiations. “We’re looking for a tough round of bargaining, we have issues that need to be addressed, we need to roll up our sleeves and get to work,” he said.
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