The Protests Begin
On September 11, 2012, the Ministry enacted Bill 115.
“Yes, we have a gun to your head,” writes Thomas Walkom of the the Toronto Star. “But if you wish, you can pull the trigger yourself.”
With the deadline for the implementation of Bill 115 approaching, educators across the province engage in a series of rotating, one-day strikes. Parents are given 72 hours notice of walkouts in their school board,
The strikes end with a press conference December 19, just before the Christmas break, and shut down every Ontario school at least once. But nothing has changed. ETFO offers a temporary ceasefire the government does not implement Bill 115, an offer the Ministry of Education immediately spurns.
President Hammond says, “She has a choice. If she decides to impose contracts, it will trigger further disruptions.” This refers to an online vote by ETFO members on whether to hold a one-day “political protest” in the new year, walking off the job for a day (92% voted in favour).
Nothing makes any difference. Resistance, negotiation, anger, peace offers, all are ignored and rejected by the McGuinty government.