Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce has said that the province has reached an agreement with teachers in the French-language public system.
The news came weeks after members of the Association des enseignantes et des enseignants franco-ontariens (AEFO) voted 93 percent in support of a strike mandate.
The structure of the agreement is similar to those struck with elementary and secondary school teachers, sending outstanding matters like salary to binding arbitration.
The agreement ensures there will be no strikes or other job action in the French-language public schools in the next three years.
The Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association is now the only major teachers’ union that has no such deal in place, and Lecce says he urges them to sign a deal.
While talking about the agreement, AEFO President Anne Vinet-Roy says the collective strength of members has proven to the government and school boards that French-language education must be recognized, fairly funded and that its peculiar needs be considered.
