For Immediate Release
March 22, 2007

Elliott: Wynne adds two more broken promises to resume
Two-year-old warnings go unheeded, parents and students pay price

(Queen’s Park) – Whitby-Ajax MPP Christine Elliott called on the Minister of Education today to take action to resolve a dispute between the Durham District School Board and its support staff that has  2, 100 workers on the picket line, and affects 70,000 students.

“You were warned two years ago that you were laying the foundation for this crisis when you made a deal with the teachers’ unions, conveniently forgetting about the support workers who provide essential services in the educational system,” fired Elliott in the Legislature this afternoon.  “They are here in the hundreds at Queen’s Park today.”

Elliott was responding to a two-day-old strike that has Education assistants, custodial, maintenance, office, clerical and technical staff off the job.  Workers demonstrated outside Queen’s Park for hours in the rain accusing the government of breaking its promises to keep peace in Ontario schools and to fix the funding formula. 

“Because of your government’s inaction, we now have support staff on strike,” said Elliott.  “What are you going to do, and when, to ensure that our children can safely, and peacefully, go to school in Durham Region?”

The Minister’s assurances that there have been no disruptions to students in the classroom were unsatisfactory to Elliott.  The fact of the matter is that parents of students with special needs are simply not able to send their children to school. 

“Though schools are currently open, they are closed to students with special needs – children who need assistance in order to learn, and also with their physical needs such as toileting and feeding,” said Elliott.  “For those who are attending, it is only a matter of days before the sanitation conditions become too unsafe to keep the schools open.”

Elliott added:  “Moreover, there have been incidents of violence at our schools, resulting in fistfights and a broken car window.  This is a rapidly escalating crisis that your government has created because of the promises you have broken.  I will ask you again, Minister, what are you going to do about this? The people of Durham Region want to know.”

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For more information contact:
Christine Elliott, M.P.P
Whitby-Ajax
416.325.1331