The Creemore
ECHO
Friday, November 29, 2019 Vol.19 No.48 www.creemore.com News and views in and around Creemore
INSIDE THE ECHO
Magic Money
Made in House
Witches Walk supports youth programs
House of Grove opens
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Fatal collision closes County Road 9
Staff photo: Trina Berlo
Robert McArthur and his team of Belgians take wagonloads of people though the village Sunday during the Creemore BIA's Old Fashioned Shopping Day.
On Nov. 22, Huronia West OPP and emergency crews were called to assist at a serious collision on Simcoe County Road 9, at Concession 6 and Riverside Drive, just west of Creemore, shortly before 1 p.m. A single vehicle collided with a hydro pole. The unnamed 75-year-old male driver was transported to an area hospital with no vital signs. He was pronounced deceased at the hospital. Simcoe County Road 9 remained closed for several hours while OPP members trained in collision reconstruction measured and documented the scene. The circumstances surrounding the cause of the collision remains under investigation.
Public school strike action escalating by Trina Berlo Unions representing elementary and secondary public school teachers say escalating job action is intended to put pressure on the provincial government to settle contract negotiations, without impacting students. The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) began the first phase of a work-to-rule strike action on Nov. 26 with the goal of putting the “government’s feet to the fire.” ETFO members are not participating in Ministry of Education and school board activities but are continuing with regular student instruction. “ETFO wants the Ford government to work with us on important issues but, so far, it has not shown much interest in doing that. Our members are getting impatient, and they are taking
strike action because it seems to be the only way to get this government’s attention,” said ETFO president Sam Hammond. “Education Minister Stephen Lecce claims only a few bargaining issues are outstanding. That is not the case. We are very far apart on many substantive items that affect both ETFO members and student learning environments.” They are fighting up to $150 million in cuts to elementary education. “That’s unacceptable. No one wants cuts except this government, which has to find a way to pay for the mistakes caused by its irresponsible and shortsighted decisions,” said Hammond. “ETFO has raised issues that are being ignored, like rising school-based violence and reasonable class sizes for our youngest learners. A regulation in
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place since 2012 around teacher hiring is in jeopardy. Without it, school boards will revert to cronyism and favouritism rather than hiring teachers based on their qualifications and experience,” added Hammond. The Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) began its first province-wide job action in more than 20 years on Nov. 26, as contract negotiations enter their eighth month. Members are participating in information pickets before and after school, and at lunch with the goal of educating the public about the Ford government’s “destructive plans for Ontario’s publicly-funded education system, and the negative effect those plans will have on the learning environment for students all
across the province.” Educators will be distributing information to parents and to the general public. OSSTF says the action will not disrupt the regular school day and will have no effect on students in the classroom. Members also began a limited withdrawal of services that will affect government or school board initiatives only and include EQAO preparation or testing, data reports, participation in unpaid staff meetings outside of school hours, or provide report card comments. “Doug Ford’s Minister of Education would have Ontarians believe that he’s eager to get to a deal,” said OSSTF president Harvey Bischof. “But the bargaining process has been underway (See “Minister” on page 8)
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