OTTAWA -- Students at Ottawa’s public elementary schools have missed six days of classes this month because of one-day strikes by Ontario’s teachers, but the school board insists the school year is not in jeopardy at this time.
Elementary and secondary schools with the Ottawa Carleton District School Board were closed on Friday because of a one-day strike by the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation.
A one-day, province-wide strike by all four teachers unions on Feb. 21 closed all schools across Ontario, including public elementary schools in Ottawa.
OCDSB elementary schools were also closed for four days due to rotating one-day strikes by the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario on Feb. 5, Feb. 6, Feb. 11 and Feb. 13.
Elementary students had a PD Day on Feb. 14 and the day off on Feb. 17 for Family Day. School buses were also cancelled on two days in February.
In a statement on its website, the Ottawa Carleton District School Board says “although several days have been lost due to strike action, at this time we do not believe that parents and students should be concerned about the status of the school year or whether students will be able to advance to the next grade.”
It adds that “under the School Boards Collective Bargaining Act, the Education Relations Commission is responsible for deciding whether a strike would put the successful completion of the school year in jeopardy. There is no exact formula when it comes to determining this.”
In January, all OCDSB elementary and secondary schools were closed on Jan. 15 due to a strike by OSSTF members. ETFO members held a one-day strike in Ottawa on Jan. 20, closing all elementary schools for the day.
