The Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario said the complaint was filed with the Ontario Labour Relations Board on Tuesday, citing that the Ford government violated its obligations under the bargaining legislation when it sent out a memo on July 28 directing school boards to complete annual early screenings for all students in Year 2 of Kindergarten through Grade 2.
The union added that a statutory freeze is in effect, which means the previous agreement that expired in August 2022 remains in force. "Early reading screening is an active subject of bargaining. The government knows that teachers already do assess and test students' literacy and numeracy abilities. The government was well aware that some of the positions it was taking at the table violated professional judgement language in our collective agreement," ETFO President Karen Brown said in a statement.