Classes are out for Catholic and French students in Ontario today
School buses have been cancelled at Catholic and French schools across the province
Catholic and French schools across Ontario are closed for the day as members of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association (OECTA) and Association des enseignantes et des enseignants franco-Ontariens (AEFO) will proceed with a one-day strike.
As a result, school buses are also not running for Catholic and French schools in the province.
The two unions have failed to reach an agreement so far with the provincial government.
On Tuesday, OECTA said it would accept the one per cent wage increase if the province backed down on class sizes and mandatory e-learning.
Later in the day, Education Minister Stephen Lecce offered to increase average high school class sizes from 22 to 23 next year — instead of the government's original target of 28 — and allow an opt-out for e-learning courses the Tories previously said would be mandatory.
President Liz Stuart said OECTA had planned to return to the bargaining table on Wednesday, but noted an average class size of 23 is still an increase over last year's levels, and would still lead to lost jobs and fewer course offerings for students.
With files from The Canadian Press