Two local coalitions will join forces with Newmarket’s striking teachers this Friday, Feb. 21, in what’s being billed as a picket for public education at Newmarket-Aurora MPP Christine Elliott’s Yonge Street constituency office.
Friday will mark the first-ever provincewide strike by members of all Ontario’s major teachers’ unions.
Members of the newly formed York Communities for Public Education and Common Ground - York Region invite parents and guardians, students, and community allies to bring their protest signs and show support for all education workers who will close down elementary and secondary schools in York Region on Friday.
Picket organizers also expect members from Ontario’s four largest teachers’ unions, including the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation, the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario, Association des enseignantes et des enseignants franco-ontariens, and the Ontario Elementary Catholic Teachers’ Association to demonstrate at the provincial politician’s office in the Nature’s Emporium plaza, off Yonge Street, just south of Mulock Drive, in Newmarket, from 10 a.m. to noon.
It’s unclear if Elliott will be in the office on that day, but Fridays are earmarked as constituency days.
“Join us as we call on the provincial government to reverse the devastating cuts to education and to bargain in good faith to reach a fair deal that supports students and education workers,” York Communities for Public Education organizers say. “Help us take a stand for the future of public education. Together, let's fight for the high quality public education that all of our students deserve.”
Protest organizers say there will be short speeches, entertainment, and leaflets handed out with information to help the public understand what’s at stake for Ontario’s public education system.
For more information on the protest, visit here.
