Some positive news: Ontario's elementary teachers have ratified key parts of a new three-year contract.
The Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario have approved the central agreements of the deal reached over a month ago, which is retroactive to the start of this school year, continuing into 2022.
It includes one percent salary increases each year, with four percent increases to benefits each year, as well as a two-year, $89-million "Support for Students" fund that will create over 430 teacher positions to address areas like special education, English-language learning, and mental health initiatives - and the contract guarantees for its duration the one-teacher, one early childhood educator model for full-day kindergarten with no changes to elementary class sizes.
They're the second major teachers' union to ratify the central terms of a deal, after the Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association three weeks ago.
The Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation and the Association of Franco-Ontarian Teachers have also reached tentative deals, though they've yet to be ratified.