Is the school year now in jeopardy?

Obscure committee must decide whether walkout harms students

They’re a little-known group of five, last called upon more than a decade ago to declare a school year in jeopardy because of a long-lasting teacher strike.

Known as the Education Relations Commission, the group has now been tasked with the same question, as high school teachers continue to walk the picket lines in Durham, Peel and Sudbury.

On Friday, Education Minister Liz Sandals — citing increasing concern now that Durham students have been out of class for four weeks — asked the commission to consider what’s called a “jeopardy advisement.”

The commission meets Tuesday and must decide by Wednesday at the latest, said Michael Barrett, president of the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association and chair of the Durham board.

If the commission decides the school year is threatened, what happens next is up to the government. That could include back-to-work legislation.

“Jeopardy remains a paramount concern for both parents and students, and the desire to bring a sense of understanding of the impact, and to lessen the further potential impact on students, is welcomed,” said Barrett.

However, he warned, “it does not restore relationships, as an anticipated legislative return-to-work does not negate the necessity of still reaching an agreement.”

Paul Elliott, president of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation, is not sure why Sandals turned to the commission, which has ruled on only 12 cases since it was created in 1975, and most recently did so in 2002.

“The commission was put in place back in the day — it goes back to the days before the ministry had so much control over school boards,” he said. “To be honest, I’m a little surprised that the Ministry of Education, in this day and age . . . can’t make the determination as to whether the school year is in jeopardy” on its own.

“If they are the experts in education, why are they allowing this to go to a panel?”

He’s further concerned because the commission will submit its decision to the government, “and you never hear the rationale behind it. It’s not public.”

The panel is a “neutral, third-party body that provides advice to the government about whether or not students’ school year is at risk due to the continuation of a strike or lockout,” said Nilani Logeswaran, spokesperson for the education minister. Their “jeopardy advisement” is non-binding advice that the government would take into consideration in determining next steps.

Bernard Fishbein, who chairs the commission, is also chair of the Ontario Labour Relations Board, and is currently hearing the case brought by three school boards asking that the OSSTF strikes in Durham, Peel and Sudbury be deemed unlawful under new legislation.

Asked via email about those dual roles, Fishbein responded: “Sorry I cannot comment on any of this right now.”

Dave Barrowclough, president of the Durham OSSTF District13, said he has no issue with Fishbein’s involvement in both. “In my eyes, those are two different decisions,” he said.

“He is right now determining whether the strikes are unlawful or not, then if the school year is in jeopardy or not. Those are two different rulings or decisions to be made.”

However, Barrowclough said he’s been frustrated at the labour relations hearing, seeing members of the Durham board’s negotiating team there instead of at the bargaining table.

Talks are expected to resume in Durham this week, once the labour relations hearing wraps up.

According to a ministry document, the commission considers factors including the number of days lost, whether a settlement is within reach, as well as the number of days left in the school year “that could be converted to instructional days which would allow students to catch up.”

Typically, high school students are out of class for an average 34 days before jeopardy is called, though a strike in Sudbury in 1979 went on for 56.