The Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario (ETFO) is soliciting member votes for potential strike action as bargaining between Education Minister Stephen Lecce and the union begins to crumble.

An ETFO media release details how negotiations have stalled and accuses the government of refusing to engage in meaningful discussion around education priorities, which they list as improved supports for students with special needs, violence in schools, compensation, fair and transparent hiring practices, workload and working conditions and smaller class sizes.

“Our members want to be in school, but this govt has to maintain the stability they want by engaging in good faith bargaining, not by arbitrarily introducing new policies to circumvent our collective bargaining process,” @ETFOpresident.
RELEASE https://t.co/K5rjxNRkzD #onpoli pic.twitter.com/9nLpKozCfY

— Elementary Educators (@ETFOeducators) August 14, 2023

Minister Lecce published a statement on the potential strike action, saying it generates unnecessary anxiety for parents and students.

Ontario students are relying on all of us - teacher unions, school boards & government - to put their interests first and that starts with students staying in class from September to June.

Read my statement below.👇 pic.twitter.com/vJbUJMZek6

— Stephen Lecce (@Sflecce) August 14, 2023

The Ontario government has been heavily criticized for unjustifiably keeping kids out of in-person learning for the longest duration of any developed nation throughout the COVID pandemic, a move that Premier Doug Ford appeared proud of.

Doug Ford announces that he has "implemented the strictest [COVID] measures in all of North America." pic.twitter.com/PE6Tit9EZt

— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) April 16, 2021

Now, Lecce claims that his goal is to continue providing students with stability.

We will stay focused on our mission: keeping kids in class.

After years of difficulty, what could possibly be more important than stability for Ontario students? pic.twitter.com/dWLBL2ZcpP

— Stephen Lecce (@Sflecce) August 15, 2023

Lecce recently introduced The Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act which grants him new legislative powers intended to increase school board accountability and empower the voices of parents, supposedly to pressure school boards to get back to basics.

Yet halfway through the summer break ETFO president Karen Brown referred to the growing number of parents concerned with the quality of education in the public system as transphobic.

As the 2022-23 school year draws to a close, the @ETFOpresident shares this special message!

WATCH #onted #onpoli #edutwitter pic.twitter.com/5vyxz5xpBc

— Elementary Educators (@ETFOeducators) June 29, 2023

While the school system in Ontario becomes inherently hazardous, with violent occurrences up 70% since 2017, it appears that the public system is failing both students and educators.

Ontario has over two million students in kindergarten to Grade 12, with three times as many students enrolled in school than any other province.

And those students have been subjected to persistent school closures and strike action since the work-to-rule campaign began in late 2019 that saw four major teachers' unions across Ontario advocate against school budget cuts and for things like smaller class sizes.

Is it time for parents to demand school choice in Ontario, where parents have the freedom and financial support to send their children to a private, charter, public school of their choice or, of course, educate them at home?