Church split on Canadian teachers' strike - Catholic school teachers struck along with non-Catholic public school teachers to protest a law - includes a related article on possible end of public funding for Catholic schools

National Catholic Reporter, Nov 21, 1997 by Gerry McCarthy

TORONTO -- Although 128,000 Ontario teachers returned to their classrooms Nov. 10, the fate of the legislation that triggered their 15-day walkout is unresolved, as are Catholic feelings about the matter.

Catholic reaction has been mixed, with the bishops' conference supporting the teachers while some Catholic leaders sided with the provincial government.

Effecting 2.1 million students, the walkout was the largest teachers' strike in North American history. Teachers protested legislation that centralizes control over education and limits collective bargaining.

Under the Canadian constitution, government and Catholic schools are both publicly funded. Catholic and public school teachers stood side by side on picket lines. The Ontario Catholic Bishops Conference issued a statement defending the teachers' right to strike and calling for just treatment.

Meanwhile, two local Catholic school boards sought legal action forcing the teachers to return to work. Some Catholic officials praised the legislation that teachers were protesting.

Bill 160, called the Education Quality Improvement Act, is the brainchild of Ontario Premier Mike Harris. The provincial legislature -- controlled by Harris' party -- was expected to pass it easily before the strike. Many still expect the bill to become law. It suspends the taxing powers of local school boards, suspends existing collective bargaining agreements, prohibits principals and vice-principals from joining unions, limits teachers' ability to strike, and allows the provincial government to dictate class size, teacher preparation time and the length of the school year.

The Harris government developed the legislation in response to a perception that schools in Ontario, especially those in urban centers, were not performing well.

A few days before the Catholic teachers walked off the job, the Catholic bishops of Ontario released a carefully worded statement supporting the teachers' right to strike. "Catholic social teaching supports their right to strike, and requires just treatment for them," the one-page statement said.

Bishop Fred Henry, chair of the Social Affairs Commission of the Ontario Catholic Bishops Conference, said, "What this piece of legislation does is that it unilaterally alters existing collective agreements and takes them away from the negotiating table." Henry has publicly announced his opposition to Bill 160.

"My own personal opinion is that this particular government is more interested in saving money than in quality of education ... they're talking about cutting $700 million out of the provincial budget for education after already cutting $500 million. What some of us are having a hard time understanding is how you can possibly take those kinds of dollars out of the education funding envelope and produce quality education. It doesn't wash," Henry said.

Ted Schmidt, who was named Ontario Catholic School Teacher of the Year in 1991, has followed the strike closely as a columnist for Catholic New Times. "The irony is that the Harris government ran in the 1995 election on giving power back to local communities," he said. Schmidt is clear on what he thinks the government is up to: "Their handlers have been trained and studied under Thatcher advisers," he said. "I guess you could describe it as a right-wing Republican agenda."

A few days into the walkout, Harris referred to the striking teachers as "agents of lawlessness." His government then proceeded to file a court injunction to force teachers back to the classroom. An Ontario general division court refused the request, saying it was "significantly premature."

As the strike wore on, however, some local school boards decided to file complaints with the Ontario Labor Relations Board, seeking to quash the strike. This quasi-judicial board has the power to impose stiff fines (up to $25,000) on workers and unions who fail to comply with negotiated contracts.

The Peterborough-Victoria-Northumberland-Clarington Roman Catholic School Board voted to file such a complaint. Jim Pilkington, chair of the board, acknowledged an inconsistency between the vote and the bishops' statement in favor of the teachers. "There might have been some conflict. We realized that," he told NCR. "We thought the strike had gone on long enough."

The Dufferin-Peel Catholic School Board, situated in the northern end of greater Toronto, also flied an appeal Its decision came on the day the bishops' statement was released.

Two days into the strike, the board agreed to drop the appeal. "It was mutually agreed it be adjourned," a public relations officer said. "I can't comment on why."

Despite episcopal opposition to the government's initiative, some Catholic leaders in Ontario have spoken in support. "I'm certainly not of the opinion that everything in Bill 160 is bad," said Msgr. Dennis Murphy, education director for the Ontario Catholic School Trustees' Association, comprised of the chairs and vice-chairs of local Catholic school boards.