All of Ontario’s 200,000 public school teachers and education workers intend to strike February 21 in a move designed to break the stalemate with the Ford government.

The unions have been holding rolling one-day strikes but now plan to band together.

”We’re just at a point where this is a fight where we need to come together,” said Sam Hammond, president of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario.

Hammond, along with the heads of the Secondary School Teachers Federation, Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association and French teachers union, sat at a table in front of Education Minister Stephen Lecce during his fireside chat at the Canadian Club at the Royal York Hotel.

(CP 24)

”The fact that I’ve heard that the teachers’ union leaders have opted to escalate again next week, know there is still a pathway to consider private mediation, to invoke an option that makes sense that would help us end an impasse that has impacted so many students’ lives, is an irresponsible choice,” Lecce said.

OSSTF president Harvey Bischof says the only thing that could prevent next Friday’s province-wide walkout is a settlement.