By Canadian Press

Nova Scotia premier defends one-day closure of province’s schools as only option

Dec 6, 2016 | 9:30 AM

HALIFAX — Nova Scotia’s premier is defending the one-day closure of the province’s public school system, saying it was the “only option” without guarantees around student safety as teachers began a work-to-rule campaign.

In an interview Tuesday, Stephen McNeil said he is aware of the public backlash after a chaotic day at the legislature Monday that also saw the government drop plans to impose a wage settlement on teachers.

“This was never about looking good in anyone’s eyes, this was about doing what was right for kids,” said McNeil. “The only option I had was to do what we did.”

McNeil said although the union had sent out a revised list of school supervision requirements on Friday, the government was still seeking clarification from a union lawyer early Monday so it could address safety concerns expressed by eight superintendents.

“It was talks about getting kids back in school  … they were happening early in the morning and during the time people were at the house,” he said.

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Angela Murray, a spokeswoman for the Nova Scotia Teachers Union, confirmed Tuesday that the union’s executive director met with the deputy minister of education for “about five minutes or so.”

“It was around the work-to-rule directives,” said Murray. “At that point government wanted us to change our directives and our executive director didn’t have the authority to do that anyway.”

The government move came as the province’s 9,300 public school teachers were preparing to implement work-to-rule job action which require them to report for work 20 minutes before school begins and leave 20 minutes after school ends. The job action followed the breakdown of talks with a conciliator on Nov. 25.

McNeil said the house was adjourned after the government got the assurance it needed around safety and it has shelved the legislation known as Bill 75 for now. The move allowed students to return to classes on Tuesday.

In a draft copy of the three clause bill released by the NDP, the government declares the Sept. 2 tentative agreement struck with union negotiators “is deemed to constitute a professional agreement entered into by the Minister of Education as an employer and the Union as the bargaining agent.”

“The reason for that was with a contract, then the right to strike would have been gone because once you have a collective agreement you can’t strike,” McNeil said. “We have no intention of bringing it (the bill) back today and we are encouraging the union to come to the table.”

NDP Leader Gary Burrill said the provisions in the shelved bill are “anti-democratic” because they impose an agreement which teachers overwhelmingly rejected in October.

Burrill said the only clear path is to return to negotiations to resolve teachers’ stated concerns around classroom conditions.

“They can’t solve this problem by imposing a contract. They couldn’t solve it by shutting students out of schools, there’s only one way to do it and that’s to negotiate a contract with the teachers.”

Meanwhile, the Progressive Conservatives continued their attack on Education Minister Karen Casey for her handling of the dispute by launching an online petition calling for her dismissal.

Tory Leader Jamie Baillie said Casey should be fired because her approach with the union has been “incompetent and unethical” and has poisoned negotiations.

Baillie said the Tories are looking for the public to weigh in because parents are upset after schools were closed with less than 48 hours notice.

“They feel used,” said Baillie. “They’ve lost trust in the minister of education to manage our schools and they are looking for a way to make that point.”

McNeil rejected Baillie’s demand, saying Casey has the full confidence of the government.

Keith Doucette, The Canadian Press

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