Bill 92, School Boards Collective Bargaining Amendment ActOn March 23, the Ministry of Education issued the news release Ontario Strengthens Collective Bargaining in Education Sector after the bill received Third Reading in the House. The legislation was supported by the Liberal and PC parties and opposed by the NDP. Before March Break, OPSBA presented to the Standing Committee on General Government along with OCSTA, ACEPO and AFOCSC.
Bill 68, Modernizing Ontario’s Municipal Legislation Act, 2016
Municipal Affairs Minister Bill Mauro introduced this legislation on November 16, 2016 and after over 10 hours of debate, it was referred yesterday to the Standing Committee on Social Policy. No public hearing dates have been posted. The legislation includes proposed amendments to the Municipal Elections Act that would change the term start date for councillors and school board trustees (from December 1 to November 15). It also contemplates several changes to the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act. On March 3, OPSBA sent a letter to the Ministry of Education addressing our concerns. The letter was based on feedback from OPSBA’s Policy Development Work Team, Executive Council and updates at the Board of Directors.
Financial Literacy
On March 23, 2017, the Ministry of Education announced 29 pilot projects to revise current career studies courses and add financial literacy content. Currently, there is no standalone financial literacy course, rather it is integrated into existing curriculum.
Construction Lien Act (CLA)
The Ministry of the Attorney General’s office issued an update to stakeholders describing recent developments with the Construction Lien Act (CLA). New legislation is to be introduced this spring to include recommendations from the Borden Ladner Gervais report and will focus on three areas:
- Modernizing the lien and holdback process;
- Introducing rules around prompt payment; and
- Creating an adjudicative process for resolving disputes.
OPSBA and the other school board/trustee associations all share a consultant working on this project on our behalf.
