Negotiate, don't legislate - Greens say no to Bill 115

(Queen’s Park) - GPO leader Mike Schreiner is calling on MPPs to vote against Bill 115 because it violates the democratic rights of teachers and education staff to bargain collectively. The Green Party supports the wage freeze proposal put forward by unions.

“Teachers came to the bargaining table with a wage freeze proposal, and the McGuinty government rejected it,” says Schreiner. “In the same way the Liberals have slammed the door on merging the Catholic and public school boards, which would save us more than $1 billion a year.”

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association has warned that Bill 115 may violate the constitutional right to collective bargaining and violate the civil rights of all Ontarians.

“Bill 115 is fiscally irresponsible,” says GPO education critic and recent candidate in Parry Sound-Muskoka Matt Richter. “The government’s unwillingness to cooperate may actually cost the province more money fighting a court challenge.”

Schreiner has pledged to work with teachers and support staff to find savings and prevent the perpetual crisis in our education system from continuing. “The teachers put a wage freeze on the table - let’s negotiate, not legislate,” says Schreiner. “The Liberals are more focused on playing political games than respecting democracy. We need to fix the problems in our education system, not make them worse.”